The news of Vaishali Takkar’s death by suicide has shocked the television industry. She was found hanging at her home in Indore on Sunday. The 29-year-old actress reportedly left a note, which was also recovered. A case has been registered at Tejaji Nagar Police Station, Indore.

Actor Vikas Sethi and his wife Jhanvi Sethi, who were extremely close to Vaishali, are yet to come to terms with the fact that she is no more. The couple had spoken to her two days ago, and Vaishali had promised to meet them soon. Vaishali was planning to come to Mumbai for her wedding shopping. She was set to tie the knot with Mitesh Singh, a software engineer based out of California.

Jhanvi says, “She told me that she was coming to Mumbai post-Diwali for her wedding shopping. She had planned to stay with us. She had said, ‘Hum ghoomenge aur bachhon (Jhanvi and Vikas’ twins) ko bhi lekar jaayenge.’ She told me about her fiancé around five months ago, following which, I even chatted with him and spoke to him on a video call. He is quite sorted and sweet.”

Vikas shares, “She was set to get married in December. The two families were looking forward to finalising the date soon. When I spoke with her on Friday, she said, ‘Sab mast chal raha hai.’ She told me that she would do the shopping with us and host a party. She had made elaborate plans for her trip to Mumbai before the wedding. So, the news of her death shocked me to the core. At first, I dismissed it as fake news. I asked Jhanvi to call up Vaishali, but her calls went unanswered. We called her father, who told us that he was in the crematorium. We froze and broke down eventually. Jhanvi was inconsolable.”

He adds, “Her father told us that she sat and chatted with him for hours and hugged him tightly before calling it a night at 12. We have been told that she died by suicide around 12.30 am and her brother was the first to discover the body. It’s devastating because Vaishali was like family.”

Jhanvi and Vaishali knew each other for almost a decade. The actress lived with Jhanvi at her residence for a few years after she moved to Mumbai to pursue a career in acting. Jhanvi says, “We were like sisters and would share everything with each other. In fact, she was instrumental in introducing me to Vikas, who was her co-actor in Sasural Simar Ka. Vaishali planned everything and took care of all the arrangements during our wedding.”

Vikas shares that Vaishali celebrated his birthday before leaving for Indore. “She has been a part of every celebration, big or small. She was the first one to hold our kids. She partied with us a week before May 12 to celebrate my birthday in advance, as she was leaving for her hometown, Indore. She was the life of every party. She was jovial and a lot of fun. There was never a dull moment with her,” he says.

The actress has left a suicide note. Talking about it, Jhanvi says, “I guess she was troubled because of her ex. She had spoken to me about it, and I told her that we would deal with it and sort it out. However, she told me not to worry and that she would handle the situation. I am at a loss for words. She was a loving girl and a beautiful soul.”

As per the police, a suicide note that was recovered from the spot suggests that Vaishali was stressed and was being harassed by her ex boyfriend, businessman Rahul Navlani. “TV actress Vaishali Takkar committed suicide by hanging herself at her residence in Sai Bagh Colony, under Tejaji police station limits in Indore,” an official said on Sunday.

Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Moti ur Rehman said, “Rahul was Vaishali’s neighbour, and the suicide note indicates that he used to harass her because of which she took such an extreme step. She was about to get married to another man and Rahul troubled her for that. The police are investigating the case. Rahul is currently not at his residence and has fled after locking his house. Police are locating Rahul, after which he will be questioned. Rahul Navlani is already married. ” — ANI

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A shocked Jayati Bhatia, who has worked with Vaishali Takkar in Sasural Simar Ka, said, “I can’t believe that a girl like her who used to be full of life, had a great sense of humour and was always smiling took such a drastic step. If Vaishali had to come in front of me right now, I would have scolded her and then given her a lot of love. She was really a very caring girl.”

Jayati remembers an incident in 2016, when she wanted to go to Ujjain and her flight was landing in Indore. She recounts, “Vaishali called me up and asked how I would travel from Indore to Ujjain alone. So she sent her parents to pick me up at the airport and also sent some sweets along with them. I was so touched by that. Her parent’s faces came in front of me after I heard about her death yesterday.”

She further adds, “If something was bothering her, she should have shared it with her parents or friends. She was very open about everything and would speak frankly to her parents. I don’t know why she couldn’t do that this time. It’s really heartbreaking and I feel a void in my heart.”

Actress Muskan Bamne posted a picture with Vaishali on her social media yesterday, and while speaking to BT, she said, “I still haven’t come to terms with the fact that she is no more. We worked together in Super Sisters, and it was really fun to be with her. She was like an elder sister who was always there for me. She was a very happy person. I don’t know anything about her personal life, but we used to interact on social media. The last time I spoke to her was when I had posted something recently, and she congratulated me.”

Manish Raisinghan, who was a part of Sasural Simar Ka, spoke to us about his interaction with Vaishali. He said, “Around the time I exited the show, Vaishali had joined. So even though we were part of the same show, we didn’t get a chance to work together. But I met her a few times. I remember I met her at a party which our makers had organized. She came and introduced herself to me and that was our first conversation. Vaishali seemed very energetic and full of life. She even told me that people on the sets used to tell her that her energy was just like mine on the sets, so it would have been fun shooting together. I will always remember her as someone who was happy and cheerful. It’s shocking to hear about her death and it is difficult to accept this.