SM Raju’s tragic death: PA Ranjith, three others booked for culpable homicide after stuntman's fatal accident

A day after the tragic death of renowned stuntman SM Raju on the sets of PA Ranjith's upcoming film starring Arya, the Keelaiyur police in Tamil Nadu have booked the filmmaker and three others for negligence and culpable homicide.

What Happened on Set?

Raju was performing a car stunt on July 13 when things went horribly wrong. A viral video shows the car failing to land properly on a ramp, soaring unnaturally into the air, flipping several times, and finally crashing head-first. Raju, who was inside the vehicle, succumbed to his injuries soon after the accident.

Police Take Action

Initially, the case was filed under Section 194 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) Act. However, after Raju's postmortem report, the charges were updated. Director PA Ranjith, stunt choreographer Rajkamal, Neelam Productions, and crew member Prabhakaran are now booked under: Section 289 (Negligent conduct), Section 125 (Abetment of an offence), Section 106(1) (Culpable homicide not amounting to murder).

So far, there has been no official statement from Ranjith or the film’s team regarding the incident. The news of Raju’s death has shocked the film industry. Many celebrities took to social media to mourn his loss.

Actor Prithviraj Sukumaran wrote, “Rest in peace Raju! So many moments of magic that would have been impossible to film without your skill and guts. You will be missed forever.” Actor Vishal, who had worked with Raju in several films, also expressed his grief, “So difficult to digest the fact that stunt artist Raju passed away while doing a car toppling sequence... He was such a brave person.”

Vishal also promised to extend full support to Raju's family.