A Telugu television news presenter was found dead in her residence at Chikkadpally on Friday, June 27, in what police suspect to be a case of suicide. The deceased, identified as 35-year-old Swetcha Votarkar, was living with her mother and her school-going daughter in the penthouse of an apartment building.
According to preliminary information, Swetcha’s daughter became concerned after returning home from school in the evening, when repeated knocks on the bedroom door went unanswered. Alarmed, the child alerted neighbours, who then forced open the door and discovered Swetcha lying unconscious inside.
An ambulance was immediately called to the scene, but paramedics pronounced Swetcha dead on arrival.
The Chikkadpally police arrived shortly after being informed and began an investigation into the circumstances surrounding her death. The body was shifted to the Gandhi Hospital mortuary for a post-mortem examination.
Speaking to the media on Saturday, Swetcha’s father, Shanker, alleged that the emotional strain of her relationship with her partner led her to die by suicide. He said Swetcha had been living with her partner for the past four years, a relationship her parents disapproved of.
“But over the last couple of years, I noticed a growing distance between them. It seemed there were issues in their relationship. When I asked Swetcha if I should intervene and speak to her partner, she warned me that she would end her life if I did,” Shanker recounted.
According to him, on June 27, the day Swetcha died, she called to inform him that she had ended the relationship. “That day, I only went to pick up her daughter from school, dropped her home, and left. Later, I got a call from my granddaughter saying her mother wasn’t opening the door. I rushed back to the apartment, and with the help of two boys from the neighbourhood, broke open the door and found her dead,” he said.