Actor Nitesh Pandey of 'Anupamaa' fame passes away
Mumbai (PTI): "Anupamaa" actor Nitesh Pandey died early Wednesday morning, his brother-in-law and producer Siddharth Nagar confirmed. He was in his 50s.
The actor, also known for roles in the Shah Rukh Khan-starrer "Om Shanti Om" and Dibakar Banerjee's "Khosla Ka Ghosla", was in Igatpuri for a shoot.
"He went to Igatpuri yesterday morning for a shoot and he died around 1.30 am. The news is true (about his demise). I am shocked, we spoke about two-three days ago and how this has happened suddenly," Nagar told PTI.
According to his "Anupamaa" co-star Rushad Rana, Pandey suffered a cardiac arrest.
The last rites of the actor will be held in Mumbai. Pandey is survived by his wife Arpita and a son.
Actor Ashwin Mushran mourned Pandey's death. "Lost a friend and a genuinely lovely person today. I'm so sorry to hear of your passing #niteshpandey. We spoke a few days ago and you said 'Let's meet Ashwin...Nahin toh zindagi bhar phone par baat karenge' (otherwise we will keep talking over phone all our lives) I guess we won't now. Travel to the other side in peace my friend," the actor said.
Commenting on the deaths of Pandey, Vaibhavi Upadhyaya and Aditya Singh Rajput, filmmaker Hansal Mehta said the industry has lost three young actors within a span of three-four days.
"Rest In Peace dear colleagues. This is such an unkind time. Prayers with their grieving families," he said.
Filmmaker Ashoke Pandit remembered Pandey as a "brilliant actor and a fun loving person".
"His demise is a great loss to the film and Tv industry. My heartfelt condolences to his entire family and near ones. Om shanti," he said.
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Congress using hijab issue to pacify minority anger, alleges Karnataka LoP R Ashoka
Bengaluru: Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R. Ashoka has accused the Congress government of using the hijab issue to placate what he described as discontent among minority voters after the Davanagere by-election.
In a post on X on Wednesday, Ashoka alleged that the state government, instead of addressing issues such as price rise, corruption, farmers’ distress and law and order, was attempting to retain its minority vote base by reviving the hijab issue.
Referring to the 2022 dress code introduced by the BJP government, which prohibited hijab in schools and colleges, Ashoka said the Karnataka High Court had upheld the policy and emphasised the importance of discipline in educational institutions.
He questioned the Congress government’s move to revisit the issue and asked whether setting aside the court-backed policy to benefit one community could be described as secularism.
Ashoka further alleged that while the government was willing to permit hijab, it continued to prohibit saffron shawls.
He accused the government of dividing students on religious lines rather than treating schools and colleges as spaces of equality.
Drawing a comparison with Mamata Banerjee’s government in West Bengal, Ashoka claimed that excessive appeasement politics had harmed the state and warned that the Congress in Karnataka could face a similar political response.
He said voters in Karnataka would teach the Congress a lesson for what he termed “vote-bank politics” and for compromising constitutional and judicial principles.
