Indian singer Krishnakumar Kunnath, better known as KK, has died after falling ill in the hotel room, with the incident raising questions over arrangements at the venue.

Kunnath, 53, was performing on Tuesday night at a packed auditorium in Kolkata, capital of the eastern Indian state of West Bengal when he complained of uneasiness.

He was rushed to the hospital from his hotel at about 10:30pm local time (1700 GMT), where doctors pronounced him dead, local media reports said.

Tributes to the singer poured in on social media, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and several Bollywood singers and actors expressing condolences.

“His songs reflected a wide range of emotions as [they] struck a chord with people of all age groups. We will always remember him through his songs,” Modi said on Twitter.

While the cause of the singer’s death remains unknown and an autopsy is expected later on Wednesday, questions are being raised about the arrangements at Kolkata’s Nazrul Mancha auditorium, where the air conditioning was allegedly not working properly.

In a report, India’s NDTV news channel said videos shot by fans at the concert showed the singer “sweating profusely as he took a break to wipe his face”.

“At one point, KK was seen gesturing to a man on stage and appeared to be talking about the air conditioning,” said the report.

Many on social media said the auditorium, with a capacity of 2,400 people, was overcrowded.

Authorities in West Bengal have launched an investigation into the singer’s death.

Aroop Biswas, a government minister in West Bengal, said Kunnath died of a “suspected cardiac arrest”.

But police said they are probing whether he died an “unnatural death”, with media reports saying there were injuries to his face and head.

“We are also talking to the hotel authorities and scrutinising CCTV footage to understand what had happened before he was taken to the hospital,” said police official Sanjoy Mukherjee.

BDST: 1903 HRS, June 1 2022
MSK