In a shocking piece of news, legendary singer Vani Jairam has passed away on February 4- Saturday at the age of 78 in Chennai. While it has been reported that she fell from her bed and died due to injuries, the Chennai police have registered a case and launched a probe into her demise. The police are probing the death in an angle of 'unnatural death'. 

Iconic singer Vani Jairam was widely known for her versatile voice across several Indian languages and she was conferred with several prestigious awards. Shockingly, Vani Jairam has breathed her last, days after she was announced as a recipient of Padma Bhushan award, which is one of India's highest civilian honours. She was living at her residence in Haddows Road, Nungambakkam, Chennai and during the afternoon hours of Saturday, it was announced that she has passed away. 

The news of her demise had dismayed millions of fans and fraternities across and beyond the borders. As her cause of death is unknown, the Thousand Lights police have inspected her residence and recovered her body. The body was sent to the Government Royapettah Hospital for a post-mortem. The police are treating this as an unnatural death and have launched a probe. It has been reported that the cause of death of the legendary known will be known after the autopsy report. 

The police said that the singer was alone at her home and when her maid Malarkodi came to the residence on Saturday morning, the latter came to know that the house was locked from inside. When Malarkodi rang the doorbell, there were no responses from Vani Jairam. The maid went to the neighbour's house after which the singer's sister Uma, who was residing in Alwarpet, and alerted the police. 

The reports say that the police officials from Thousand Lights reached her house and opened the door using an extra key from Uma. The police said that Vani Jairam had fallen and hit her head on a table. There was a slight injury mark on her forehead. Speaking to reporters, Vani's maid Malarkodi said, "I came to the residence as my routine. When I rang the doorbell for the first time, there was no response and rang it for four to five times, but no response. I asked my husband to call her (Vani Jairam) and he wasn't able to reach her." 

Malarkodi further said, "The neighbours were informed and later, the police were alerted. Vani Jairam's sister Uma was informed and she came with an extra key with which the door was opened. When we searched, Vani Jairam was found lying on the floor. She had an injury on her forehead." "I would come at 10 am and leave by 12 pm. I had been working with her for ten years. She had no health-related issues. Several people were calling her to wish her for being nominated for the Padma Awards. She was like a mother to me", Malarkodi added. 

Vani Jairam was living alone at this residence for over 20 years. Senior police officials in Chennai and forensic department sleuths have been conducting an investigation into Vani Jairam's death. After learning about her demise, several political leaders and celebrities have been expressing their tribute to the deceased singer. From Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin to his Andhra Pradesh counterpart YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, a league of leaders have extended their condolences to one of nation's glorious singers. 

Vani Jairam was born in 1945 in Tamil Nadu's Vellore district. She started her career in Tamil cinema in 1974 by singing the Malligai En Mannan Mayangum song in a Tamil movie 'Dheerga Sumangali'. The song was written by poet Vali while the music was composed by MS Viswanathan. She was honoured with state awards from Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, and Gujarat. 

Vani was also a recipient of three national awards. In 1975, she received the National Award for Best female playback singer for Apoorva Raagangal movie. 1980, she was conferred with her second National Award for best female playback singer for her songs in the Telugu movie, Sankarabharanam. The third National Award came to her from the song 'Anathineeyara Hara' from the Telugu movie Swathi Kiranam.