BENGALURU: A 52-year-old Sandalwood director and actor, Guru Prasad, was found dead in his apartment in Dasanapura, North Bengaluru, on Sunday morning.
The jurisdictional Madanayakanahalli police are at the spot and carrying out an investigation. The police suspect financial issues are the reason behind his extreme step.
Based on the primary investigation, police said the apartment residents reported a foul smell coming from Prasad’s flat. They rushed to the spot and forced open the flat door to find him hanging from the hook of the ceiling fan, and the body was in a decomposed state. The Scene of Crime Officers (SOCO) team visited the spot along with the police and are collecting evidence.
The police are searching the flat in every corner to check if there is any death note left by him before taking the extreme step. According to his close fraternity, Prasad was experiencing financial problems, and he borrowed money from many people. Police are verifying his mobile phone to ascertain clues.
The incident came to light around 11 am, when the security staff shared a message in the apartment WhatsApp group informing of a foul smell coming from behind tower no 27. The residents went near the tower suspecting the smell was due to garbage. But the smell was intolerable. They used the ladder to check on Prasad’s flat, and when they peeped through the window, he was found hanging.
According to apartment resident Jayaram, who spoke to the media, he last saw Prasad at least four days ago. The security guard noticed the foul smell and informed them, prompting them to alert the jurisdictional police. Prasad was staying in the apartment alone for a year, he added.
Prasad began his film journey in 2006 by directing the movie “Mata,” in which Senior Actor Jaggesh acted. Prasad won the Karnataka State Filmfare Award. He was a contestant in a reality show, season 2 in Kannada, and was a judge for comedy and dance shows. Prasad directed a few movies such as “Mata,” “Eddelu Manjunatha,” “Director Special,” and “Ranganayaka.” He also acted in around 10 movies. He also worked as a dialogue writer.
