Sri Sarathi Studios director found dead
B. Babu Rao, director of Sri Sarathi Studios, one of the oldest and renowned film studios in the country, was found dead with his throat slit on the studios premises late Thursday night.
While a homicide case was registered following a complaint given by the 62-year-old victim’s son Sharath, investigators surmise Rao committed suicide based on a suicide note purportedly written by him and found in his office table drawer on Friday. "The circumstantial evidence and the single deep cut wound suggests he ended his life by slashing his throat with a sharp-edged weapon -- either a blade or a knife", the police said.
"I want to die because I cannot survive in this world with my mentality. So nobody is responsible for my death except myself," the note with Rao’s signature on a single page of a short scribbling pad stated.
Rao, who manages the studio's affairs, used to live in a building on the studios premises with his son Sharath and wife Lalita. Around 9.30 p.m. on Thursday, he stepped out of the house for a walk. He turned down his wife’s wish to accompany him stating that he wanted to go out alone. Two security guards followed the director as he was alone. But he sent them away asking them to keep watch on other parts of the premises.
Two hours later, they found him lying on the narrow path between the studios compound wall and a building with a deep laceration in the middle of the throat. They immediately rushed him to Image Hospitals where the doctors declared him dead. While police believed the victim died of a slash injury, no blade or knife was found at the spot.
The ‘suicide note’ and samples of papers written by Rao, were being sent to the A.P. State Forensic Science Laboratory for comparative analysis. Investigators learnt that Rao was consulting psychiatrists for some problems.
