Chennai(PTI): Popular yesteryear actor Chitra died here on Saturday following a cardiac arrest, sources close to her family said.

The 56 year-old multi-lingual actor, more popularly known as 'Nallennai' (gingelly oil) Chitra following her association with a top oil brand, is survived by husband and daughter. She passed away at her Saligramam residence here. Family sources said the funeral will take place in the city today.

Born in Kochi, Kerala, Chitra who earned the sobriquet 'Nallennai' after the gingelly oil advertisement in which she acted became popular, rose to fame in the Tamil film industry in the 1990s.

She has acted in a number of films alongside top stars including Rajinikanth, Sarathkumar and Prabhu.

Introduced as a child artist by Director K Balachander in 1975 in the national award winning Tamil film 'Apoorva Raagangal,' Chitra starred along with other popular actors like Kamal Haasan and Srividya as well.

She has worked in a number of Malayalam, Telugu and Kannada films as well. Chitra was cast as Mary Kutty along with top stars Prem Nazir, Mohanlal and Lakshmi in her first film Aattakalasham in Malayalam in 1983.

She has also starred in some tele-serials. Meanwhile, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Congress leader V D Satheeshan, BJP state chief K Surendran and other leaders condoled the demise of the actress.

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Kotdwar (PTI): A man was arrested here for allegedly raping his 13-year-old stepdaughter, police said on Sunday.

The 32-year-old accused was arrested from Najibabad Road on Saturday and later sent to judicial custody on court orders, they said.

According to police, the minor's mother had lodged a missing person complaint on Friday, stating that her daughter had left home without informing anyone at around 7 am on February 5.

During the investigation, police analysed CCTV camera footage from nearby areas and found that the girl had gone to her grandmother's house.

The grandmother told police that the girl was extremely frightened and did not want to return home due to alleged harassment. She later left the girl with an acquaintance, from where police safely recovered her.

After gaining the girl's confidence, police said she disclosed that her stepfather had raped her on the night of February 4, following which she ran away from home the next morning.

A case has been registered against the accused under Sections 65(1) and 75(2) (rape) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Sections 3 and 4 (sexual assault) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.