Akanksha Dubey was a resident of Uttar Pradesh's Bhadohi district.
The body of Bhojpuri actor Akanksha Dubey was found in a hotel room in Varanasi on Sunday. The police said she died by suicide after attending a party that night. But her family and co-stars allege that there is more to her death. Akanksha Dubey's mother Madhu Dubey has filed a complaint against Bhojpuri singer Samar Singh and his brother Sanjay Singh, after which a case has been registered against them. Akanksha Dubey was a popular actor of Bhojpuri films and had a huge fan-following on Instagram.
What happened on Sunday?
The 25-year-old was found hanging in the room of the hotel she had checked into for a film shoot. The hotel staff called the police.
"The door was locked from inside," Additional Commissioner of Police Santosh Singh said, ruling out any "foul play". He also said that the actor's Instagram videos showed her crying.
The hotel staff used a master key to enter her room at the insistence of her colleagues when she did not come out till late on Sunday morning, the police said.
What Akanksha Dubey's friend says
Bhojpuri actor and Ms Dubey's friend Kajal Raghawani posted a long note on Instagram in Hindi in which she suggested that the actor had been troubled.
"Your fear was proved right today, and you let your fear win over your bravery. You shared your feelings with everyone before going to the second shoot. Now the thing you were afraid of, the thing you were worried about will not happen.
"I will never believe that you can kill yourself. God exists and he will definitely make them pay the price of your life if not today then tomorrow. The price of true love should not be paid by giving life or by taking someone's life. Stay happy wherever you are," she added.
What the actor's mother says
Madhu Dubey said she couldn't believe her daughter could end her life. "She faced so many struggles and reached the top but never talked about any such thing," she told reporters.
"Samar Singh had been torturing her for three years, and there were payment issues between them," she claimed.
"I last spoke to her at 8pm on Sunday. I called her again around midnight but she did not pick up the phone," Madhu Dubey added.
Akanksha Dubey's last video on Instagram
The actor was seen dancing to a popular Bhojpuri song in her last Insta post a day before her death.
Akanksha Dubey was a resident of Uttar Pradesh's Bhadohi district. She was rumored to be dating fellow Bhojpuri actor and singer Samar Singh, with whom she had also collaborated professionally.
She was expected to release a song called "Aara" with popular singer Pawan Singh on Sunday.