VJ Chithra's husband arrested for abetting Tamil TV actor's suicide, says Chennai police

Tamil TV actor VJ Chitra's husband Hemanth Ravi has been arrested in Chennai for allegedly abetting her suicide. He was taken into judicial custody at Chennai’s Ponneri jail after six days of interrogation. “Based on the outcome of the investigation carried out for the past few days, we have slapped Section 306 of the IPC against Hemanth,” an officer close to the case told The New Indian Express. The news outlet notes that the action against Chithra’s husband was taken on the same day when the probe into her death began, as the couple had only married two months ago. A formal ceremony was expected to take place in January. Chithra, 29, was found dead in a Chennai hotel room on Wednesday. Her friends and family had suggested foul play and demanded a thorough investigation. They were lodging in a hotel near the EVP film city where Chithra had been shooting for a project. Assistant Commissioner of Police Sudarshan told  NDTV that Hemanth did not like an intimate scene that Chithra had enacted in a show. On the day of her death he had even pushed her. The Hindu adds that the two had a row over the issues of fidelity. After Hemanth found her on the sets of the shoot and an argument had sparked between them, Chithra had allegedly asked him to say out of the hotel room, following which she ended her life. Hemanth had opened the room with the help of hotel staff. The police said that she had injuries on both her cheeks. Her breakout role was in the Tamil soap opera Pandian Stores. Chithra had previously hosted several major shows on channels, including Makkal TV, Jaya TV, and Zee Tamizh over and above her commitment to serials. * A collection of Suicide prevention helpline  numbers are available here. Please reach out if you or anyone you know is in need of support. The All-India helpline number is: 022 2754 6669