Stunt artist SM Raju, whose real name was Mohan Raj, lost his life while performing a high-risk car stunt, on the film sets of a Pa Ranjith film with actor Arya. The incident has raised concern over safety measures on films' sets. As per a report in The Hindu, Pa Ranjith and three others have been booked by the Keelaiyur police in connection with the death of SM Raju.
Pa Ranjith and 3 others booked for stuntman SM Raju’s death
SM Raju died while performing a car-toppling stunt sequence during the shooting of Pa Ranjith's Tamil film Vettuvam, with Arya in the Nagapattinam district. The tragic incident took place on Sunday, July 13, during the shoot organised by Neelam Productions. A video which has gone viral on social media, shows Raju's colleagues pulling him out of the vehicle and taking him to the hospital.
Initially, a case was registered against Pa Ranjith, stunt choreographer Rajkamal, Neelam Productions and Prabhakaran under Section 194 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) Act.
Post the incident, Raju was taken to the Nagapattinam Government Medical College Hospital, where doctors declared him dead on arrival. His body was handed over to the family after a postmortem. Based on evidence, the police looked into the case again and booked the film's team under Sections 289 (Negligent conduct), 125 (Abetment of an offence), and 106(1) (Culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the BNS Act.
"The post-mortem clearly points to internal trauma and bleeding in the head. Based on preliminary investigation, we've filed a case of negligence," a Nagapattinam police officer told NDTV.
Stunt community and celebs mourn SM Raju's death
Actors like Prithviraj Sukumaran, Vishal and others expressed grief over Raju's sudden demise. Stunt artists including Sham Kaushal, Ram Shetty, Aejaz Gulab, and Silva among others, also mourned the tragic death of the popular stuntman.
