Kannada actor Chethana Raj dies after ‘fat-removal’ surgery, parents lodge complaint against doctor

Kannada TV actor Chethana Raj has died after complications from a fat removal surgery she had undergone at a private hospital in Bengaluru. Chethana’s father has now claimed that she died due to negligence by Dr Shetty’s Cosmetic Centre and that he has lodged a complaint against the hospital. Also Read: Kannada TV actress Chethana Raj dies at 21 after plastic surgery goes wrong

On May 16, Chethana had reportedly undergone a surgery, soon after which she experienced some breathing difficulties. According to a report by a local news outlet, after the surgery, fluid had accumulated in her lungs, causing her to become breathless. However, there was no ICU available at the cosmetic hospital she got operated in.

“The father of the deceased has filed a complaint against the doctor who performed the cosmetic procedure on her and an FIR has been filed by the police in this regard. The body will soon be sent for post-mortem. We can investigate the case more deeply only after the post mortem results are out,” said Manjunath Raju, a police official with the Subramanyanagar police station.

Reports claim that doctors at the Kaade Hospital have said that Chethana suffered a heart attack and upon her arrival at the hospital, she was unresponsive, with no pulse. Soon, Chethana underwent CPR and after trying for approximately 45 minutes to revive her, the doctors declared her ‘brought dead’. 

Dr Sandeep V, who is the ICU intensivist at the Kaade Hospital, has also filed a report at the Basaveshwar Nagar Police Station, stating that a doctor, Melvin, who is an anaesthetist, barged into their hospital with a patient (Raj) around 5.30 pm on May 16, “disregarding all the protocols of the hospital and threatening their security”.

The complaint read: “Our doctors were forced to toe the line of Dr Melvin and team with threats and though they were aware that the patient was brought dead, they were coerced into declaring only at 06:45 p.m., for the reasons best known to them. We strongly object to this kind of behaviour by these doctors and if necessary we may decide to file a report against them. This report is being sent to you to bring to your notice this incident which does not appear normal.”