Actress found dead near shooting location

A junior artiste was found dead under suspicious circumstances near a construction site where shooting was under way for a

Kannada

film in north Bengaluru on Monday evening.

Padma

alias Padmavathi, 44, was among 120 artistes taking part in the shooting of VIP, directed by

Nandakishore

and starring

Manoranjan

, son of actor

V Ravichandran

, at the location in

Avalahalli

, near Yelahanka. The 160-member film unit was shooting a dance sequence and after packing up for the day , one artiste real ized Padma was missing, sources said. A search was immediately launched and according to unconfirmed reports, Padma's body was found in the lift shaft on the ground floor around 7.30 pm, they added. Amit Singh, SP , Bengaluru Rural district, confirmed that a woman's body was found but it was not clear how she died. He refused to say whether she had fallen from a height.

Director Nandakishore told mediapersons that she was found dead at another place and not where shooting was under way. Jurisdictional Rajanukunte police were not available for comment.

Jakkur resident Padma had been a regular in Kannada movies for over two decades. VIP producer Rockline Venkatesh said they suspect Padma might have slipped and fallen into the lift shaft after she left the shooting spot.