Pandian Stores' fame actress Chithra fondly known as Chithu by her friends and fans died by apparently hanging herself in the bathroom of a star hotel she was staying in near Nazrethpet in Chennai. Her husband Hemanth Kumar had stated that she came back from a shoot after midnight on December 8th and went in for a bath but did not return for a long time and later her body was found hanging.

Chithra's body was kept at her residence in Kotturpuram for homage for a few hours and was then taken to the Besant Nagar crematorium where her mortal remains were cremated. Her Pandian Stores costars and many other friends from the television industry paid homage to her and bid her a tearful farewell and everyone's angst is that such a bubbly and loving person's life has been cut short cruelly.

Controversies arose that there were bruises on Chithra's face in the form of nail grazing and foul play was suspected by her friends and colleagues. The 29 year old actress's mother had accused Hemanth Kumar of murdering her daughter.

While an RDO inquiry is happening to ascertain the cause of death the postmortem report concluded that it was a suicide and the probe is on to find out what or who instigated her to take her own life.