Former TV anchor Tejaswini kills self over suspected marital woes

Former television anchor M Tejaswini reportedly killed herself on Sunday, June 17, evening at her residence in Edupugallu village in Andhra Pradesh's Krishna district. The incident came to light on Monday, June 18. The 25-year-old earlier worked as an anchor with a Vijayawada based local TV Channel.

Tejaswini is said to have locked herself in her room and did not answer when her mother-in-law knocked on the door. Worried, she called the neighbours who then broke down the door and found the former anchor hanging from the ceiling fan. She was brought down and rushed to the hospital, but was declared brought dead.

The police have registered a case and an investigation is ongoing.

While the exact cause of the suicide is yet to be ascertained, the police believe that Tejaswini and her husband Pavan's marriage was going through a rough patch, reported the Times of India. It is suspected that Tejaswini was upset about the discord and took her life. Her husband was said to be on a business trip at the time of the incident.

The couple has reportedly been married for five years and also has a daughter. They are said to have faced quite a few issues before marriage as their parents were against the relationship. The duo then severed ties with their families and got married. Later, Pavan mother and the couple reconciled and had been living together for quite some time.

Tejaswini's death comes just a few months after another news anchor killed herself in Hyderabad. Radhika Reddy is said to have jumped off the fifth floor of her parents' residence in Moosapet on April 1, around 10.50 am. 

Reddy had left behind a suicide note, in which she said that she didn't hold anyone responsible for her death and that her depression was too much to take. "My brain is my enemy," she wrote.

The Kukatpally Police Inspector V. Prasanna Kumar told International Business Times India that she had taken her life after coming home from work. Reddy went straight to the terrace after she reached home and jumped off the building, he explained.

The news anchor sustained serious leg and head injuries and died on the spot.

Reddy had divorced her husband about six months ago and had been living with her parents and 14-year-old son since. The son is said to be differently-abled.

News anchor shoots herself live on television

However, the most gory and upsetting suicide of a news anchor remains that of Christine Chubbuck, who killed herself live on air in 1974. The 29-year-old anchor arrived at work that day with a .38 pistol in her bag. She then changed the order of the show and started it with a newscast, instead of the usual interviews.

She read a script and said: "In keeping with Channel 40's policy of bringing you the latest in blood and guts and in living color, you are going to see another first – an attempted suicide."
Chubbuck then raised the gun to her head and pulled the trigger.

She was known to be suffering from severe depression and had often spoken about her suicidal tendencies. She had been seeing a psychiatrist and also tried to overdose on drugs in 1970.