Kannada actor Puneeth Rajkumar dies of heart attack

Schools and colleges let their students leave for home early. Parents were told to come and pick up their children

Puneeth Rajkumar, 46, one of the marquee names of Kannada film industry and the youngest of the five children of matinee idol Dr. Rajkumar, passed away after suffering cardiac arrest on October 29 morning. Revenue Minister R. Ashok made the announcement of his demise a little after 3 p.m.

"He experienced heart pain this morning while working out and went to the family doctor. He was later taken to Vikram hospital on learning that he had suffered a heart attack," Mr. Ashok said.

Dr. P. Ranganath Nayak from Vikram hospital told mediapersons outside the hospital, "He was at the gym for two hours when he suffered chest pain. He went to the family doctor. An ECG showed heart attack, and he was immediately rushed to Vikram hospital. But en route, he suffered cardiac arrest. For three hours, we tried cardiac massage and ventilation."