In a shocking piece of news, a fan of Sandalwood Power Star Puneeth Rajkumar had committed suicide after learning about the untimely demise of his favourite star. Puneeth Rajkumar, who was celebrated as the man of the masses, had passed away on Friday at the age of 46 in Bengaluru due to cardiac arrest. His sudden demise had startled the entire cinema industry and the fans across and beyond the borders and hundreds of thousands of people have been paying homage to the departed soul, who was admired for his discipline and pleasant smile. 

While the national leaders and celebrities from across the aisle have been paying tribute to talented Puneeth Rajkumar, the news of the actor's demise had given a huge blow to his ardent fans and some of them had succumbed after knowing his death. They couldn't able to accept the demise of the actor and while two fans had died of cardiac arrest following his demise, another fan had committed suicide after learning about the passing of Puneeth Rajkumar. 

According to reports, 21-year-old Rahul Gaadivaddara had committed suicide on Friday night after paying respect to Puneeth Rajkumar's portrait at his home. Rahul, who was the native of Athani in the Belagavi district of Karnataka, was a huge fan of Puneeth Rajkumar and he was immensely shocked to learn about Rajkumar's death. He was mourning the actor's loss at his home and after decorating Puneeth's portrait with flowers, Rahul hanged himself to death at his home. The development where Puneeth's fan had committed suicide had drawn massive attention from across the country and poured more worry on already grieving minds. 

While Rahul had committed suicide on one hand, on the other hand, two fans of the Power Star had died of cardiac arrest on Friday after they watched the news about the demise of the actor. A 30-year-old man from Maruru village in the Chamrajnagar district of Karnataka had passed away due to cardiac arrest. The deceased was identified as Muniyappa and he was a farmer and was surviving by his wife and two children. According to the local villagers, Muniyappa was a die-hard fan of Puneeth Rajkumar and the former had watched all of the latter's movies.

Muniyappa was shocked to know that his favourite star had passed away due to cardiac arrest and he was crying before the television while watching the health updates of the actor. When the news of the actor's death made headlines, Muniyappa had collapsed on the spot and he was immediately rushed to Ponnachi Primary Health Centre. However, the doctors declared him brought dead due to a massive cardiac arrest. Similarly, another fan of the Power Star had also died of cardiac arrest after the demise of Puneeth Rajkumar. 

The reports say Parashuram Demannanavar, a native of Shindolli village in Belagavi, had died of cardiac arrest on Friday night. Parashuram had been crying by watching the events of Puneeth's death on television and he couldn't able to bear the loss of the actor and he suffered a cardiac arrest and eventually, breathed his last, hours after the death of Puneeth Rajkumar. In yet another shocking piece of news, 35-year-old Satish had crushed his hand after learning about the actor's death. 

Satish is an auto-rickshaw driver and a native of Saligrama, Udupi district and after learning about the demise of the actor, he had hit his hand hard on his auto-rickshaw and suffered bleeding. He has now been getting treated at the local Primary Healthcare centre. These incidents that emerged after the actor's death had dismayed the state amid mourning the loss of a towering artist. Puneeth Rajkumar had complained of chest pain on Friday morning while he was working out in the gym. 

Initially, he was taken to a private hospital and later, he was shifted to Vikram Hospital at around 11.30 am and he was brought to the hospital in a critical state. He was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit and despite the treatment, he breathed his last on Friday afternoon, leaving an everlasting legacy across and beyond Sandalwood. Puneet Rajkumar, who was fondly called the Power Star of Sandalwood, has left behind a wife and two daughters. He was active in the industry for the past three decades and besides acting, he was also known for his versatility. He had done playback singing, television presently, and produced movies in Kannada cinema.

Some of his everlasting performances and movies are 'Vasantha Geetha', 'Bhagyavantha', 'Chalisuva Modagalu', 'Eradu Nakshatragalu', 'Bhakta Prahaladha', 'Yarivanu', and 'Bettada Hoovi'. He won the National Film Award for Best Child Artist for his role of Ramu in 'Bettada Hoovu'. He was also conferred with Karnataka State Award Best Child Artist for 'Chalisuva Modagalu' and 'Yeradu Nakshatragalu'. Besides these significant movies, he had appeared as a lead actor in commercially successful films, including 'Appu', 'Abhi', 'Veera Kannadiga', 'Mourya', 'Aakash', ''Ajay', 'Arasu', 'Vamshi', 'Raam', 'Jackie', and 'Anjani Putra'. 

He was one of the popular celebrities and highest-paid actors in the Kannada cinema and he made his debut as a television presenter in 2012 on the game show 'Kannadada Kotyadhipati'. Born as Lohit Rajkumar on 17th March 1975 in Chennai, Puneet Rajkumar is the fifth and youngest child of veteran Kannada actor Rajkumar and Parvathamma Rajkumar. Puneet's elder brother Shiva Rajkumar is also a popular actor. Puneeth was last seen in 'Yuvarathnaa', which was released early this year and became a blockbuster. Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to social media and wrote, "A cruel twist of fate has snatched away from us a prolific and talented actor, Puneeth Rajkumar. This was no age to go. The coming generations will remember him fondly for his works and wonderful personality. Condolences to his family and admirers. Om Shanti."