VJ Rakshan, actor and TV presenter for Star Vijay, has denied allegations that he was involved in fellow presenter and actor VJ Chitra‘s death. Speaking to Silverscreen India, Rakshan said he had no role to play in her suicide, and that he had last spoken to her over 7 months ago. Rakshan said that the report was “fake news”.
On December 9, VJ Chitra was found dead in a hotel room in Nazrethpethai, Chennai. Her husband Hemnath was subsequently arrested on December 14 on charges of abetment to suicide and lodged at the Ponneri jail.
However, a recent media report alleged that VJ Rakshan had been dating VJ Chitra and was threatening her with videos of them. In a telephone conversation with Silverscreen India, Rakshan dismissed the report and said that he was looking into legal action over the allegations.
“It is fake news and I have been clarifying the same to the media as well and simultaneously looking into it legally. I did not see her this year and Chitra and I have not spoken for months. The last time I spoke to her was about seven to eight months ago with regard to an Instagram collaboration for a dough commercial,” Rakshan said.
Rakshan mentioned that since they did not have any shoot together, there had been no opportunity for them to meet. He said, “Everyone in the channel [Star Vijay] talks jovially to each other but not everyone is close as it appears.”
Rakshan said he was not going to indulge in speculations about her death, and that he wanted to clarify his stance, given the rumours connecting him to Chitra’s death. “We are not as close as projected to date and it is completely false. Even after shooting resumed, we did not meet each other and did not get a chance to meet,” he said.
Rakshan said, “This is not the first time I have been rumoured to be with someone. In the past, they had been rumours about me and former Big Boss contestant Julie whom I have never met. I had left those speculations to die on their own, but now I decided to take a strong stand to clear my name.”
Rakshan said he did not know how the rumours began, but he first came across them on YouTube. “These rumours are related to the death of a person, and I denied them. It is hard to gain a name in society, I had to issue a clarification immediately. This looks like something that is diverting the direction of the case,” he said.
He said that the police had not contacted him as yet.
“Everyone at my house is sad over this. My wife is a friend to me and she is supporting me. I request everyone to not believe the rumours. Just like everyone, even I am waiting for the mystery behind her death to be uncovered.”
Raskhan said he last saw Chitra was at a college function at OMR in Chennai last year, when she wished him for his film Kannum Kannum Kollaiyadithaal, which released in February 2020.
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Chitra’s body has been sent to Kilpauk Medical College hospital for post-mortem investigations. Following her death, a probe was initiated by the Revenue Divisional Officer (RDO). The probe is mandatory if a woman dies within seven years of marriage. Chitra’s family had also filed a complaint with the police, in which they alleged that Hemnath had been physically violent towards Chitra. According to an earlier report by The Times of India, the police disclosed that during questioning, Hemnath confessed to arguing with Chitra, particularly over her shooting intimate scenes with certain male actors.