Kannada Actress Hemashree Dies Mysteriously

Popular Telugu and Kannada TV actress Hemashree passed away on Tuesday evening under mysterious circumstances when she was on her way to Anantapur in Andhra Pradesh.

The actress, a resident of Banashankari in Bangalore, was heading to Anantapur in a car with husband, JDS leader Surendra Babu, for a family function. She was said to have developed some health complications during the journey.

Babu immediately rushed her to Baptist hospital in Hebbal at around 8 pm where doctors declared her dead on arrival.

"When she was brought to the casualty, her body had already [in rigor mortis]. This means she would have died six to eight hours before she was brought to the hospital," a staff member in the casualty ward told The Hindu.

Babu told Hebbal police that Hemashree suffered complications while they were travelling and had collapsed.

An autopsy will be done on Wednesday to determine the actual cause of her death, police said.

Hemashree married Babu in 2011 and since then the couple were said to have some problems. Last year, the actress filed a police complaint against her husband accusing Babu of marrying her against her will and also for threatening her with dire consequences.

Hemashree acted in several Kannada, Telugu and Malayalam films. Apart from TV serials like "Danda Pindagalu", "Tulasi" and "Daridra Lakshmiyaru" she starred in movies like "Sirivanta" and "Varsha". She made her Telugu film debut in "Nee Sukam Korakantanu" alongside southern stars Sneha and Raja.

In 2008, the actress participated in the Assembly elections as a JD(S) contestant but had lost the election.