'Jungle Jackie' falls to death in Mysore

Actor slips from second floor terrace of his house

Upcoming Kannada actor Rajesh, 25, popularly known as ‘Jungle Jackie,’ died after accidentally falling from the terrace of the second floor of his house at Parasaiahanahundi, near Srirampura in the City on Sunday.

Rajesh, who suffered injuries on the left side of his abdomen was rushed to Bhanavi Hospital in Kuvempunagar. Dr Vijay Chaluvaraj and Dr Ravi, who attended on him, tried to revive him for nearly 20 minutes, but in vain. He was declared dead subsequently.

In her complaint to the South police, Rajesh’s mother Lakshmi said: “My son went to the terrace of the house to attend a call on his cellphone. He was suffering from frequent giddiness and slipped to death around 12.40 pm.”

Earlier, the mother and the son had been arguing over an issue, said Ravi, a neighbour who helped extricate a bleeding Rajesh stuck in the grills of the compound wall after the incident.

It was just ten months ago that the family had shifted to the rented place in Mysore from the Balle tribal hamlet in HD Kote taluk of the district.

Lakshmi said that a few minutes prior to the incident, they had returned home after their plan to go to Chamundi Hills had to be cut short due to the abnormal behaviour of Rajesh.

On the way to the Hills in a cab along with his mother, the actor asked the driver twice to stop the car, expressing his desire to jump off the Hills. Petrified, the driver took a detour and dropped the mother and son duo home. It was after this that both of them picked a quarrel, at the gate of the house.

According to Lakshmi, when Rajesh went to a doctor, complaining of giddiness, the doctor ruled out any problem and had advised him to concentrate on his fitness.

Though the reason for the quarrel is still hazy, it is learnt that Rajesh was upset after his career in films was not going on expected lines. His maiden film as a hero - ‘Jungle Jackie’ - was released after much struggle recently, only to bomb at the box office.

The shooting of his second film, ‘Love is Poison,’ was underway and he had come home a day ago for the festival. He was due to shoot for another few days. In addition to this, a cheque issued for Rs five lakh by the producer of his debut venture had allegedly bounced. He was also unsure of his second film bringing him any windfall.

Rajesh instantly shot to fame after winning ‘Halli Haida Pyateg Banda,’ a reality show aired in a private Kannada television channel. It was his successful stint on TV, which helped his foray on the big screen.

South police have registered a case of unnatural death.