Kannada actor Chethana Raj dies after fat reduction operation in Bengaluru

BENGALURU: A 21-year-old budding TV actress who underwent liposuction, a fat reduction procedure, died at a private facility here on Monday. The deceased Chethana Raj has acted in Kannada serials ‘Geetha’ and ‘Doresani.’
Chethana, a resident of Abbigere, north Bengaluru, got herself admitted to Dr Shetty’s Cosmetic Centre in Rajajinagar, on Monday morning. Around 6pm she reportedly developed complications. The hospital called up her parents who rushed her to another hospital with an ICU facility. Doctors at the second hospital found no pulse and declared her ‘brought dead’ around 7pm.
Subramanyanagar police registered a case of unnatural death based on a complaint filed by Chethana’s father, Varadaraju, a businessman. “The victim’s father has alleged medical negligence by the cosmetic centre. So, we have registered a case under the provision of Section 174 of CrPC. Further action will be taken based on the medical and autopsy report,” Vinayak Patil, deputy commissioner of police (north), told TOI.
Police handed over the body to her parents after postmortem was done at MS Ramaiah Medical College Hospital. “The autopsy report will reveal the exact cause of her death,” said an investigating officer. She funded the operation herself, says father Chethana’s grandmother, Narayanamma, said after Chethana completed her graduation, the family wanted her to get married. “But she refused saying she wanted to act in Kannada films. She asked us for Rs 1.5 lakh to undergo the fat reduction surgery. We did not encourage her to have the operation as she was healthy and not fat,” said Narayanamma.
However, Chethana told her family that she would go ahead with the surgery with help from her friends. Varadaraju alleged that the hospital did the surgery without the consent of her family members. Chethana had moved into a PG accommodation at Rajarajeshwarinagar four months ago. She arranged money for the procedure from her earnings and paid the cosmetic centre Rs 92,000. “We have filed a complaint against the hospital, and police have assured legal action against them,” said Varadaraju. When TOI reached out to the hospital, they refused to comment. But on Tuesday evening, the health department asked the hospital to submit a report on the incident.