Actor Asif Basra was found hanging in an apparent suicide at his residence in Dharamshala, the Himachal Pradesh Police said in a statement. He was 53. Last seen in the web series Pataal Lok, Basra's body was discovered at around noon time on the first floor of the two-storey house near McLeodganj in Upper Dharamshala, the police added. Residents of the area stated that he had been living in the house for around 5-6 years. Kangra Superintendent of Police Vimukt Ranjan said, "Prima facie, he hanged himself and it is a case of suicide". 

Ranjan further stated that Asif Basra's body has been sent for a post-mortem examination and that a forensics team had conducted an investigation of the spot. He added that the property in which Basra was residing was under a lease agreement and that he would be on the move constantly due to his work in the film and television industry. No suicide note nor any sign of foul play was found, the official said. A few residents in the locality said that they had last seen Basra earlier in the day taking his dog out for a walk. Inquest proceedings under Section 174 of the Criminal Procedure Code have been initiated at the McLeodganj police station.

Asif Basra was born in Maharashtra in 1967 and had shown a passion for acting since his school days. He continued to perform in various college productions after moving to Mumbai in 1989 and one among his first big appearances in theatre was as Horatio in 1991 in Salim Ghouse’s production of Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Basra went on to act in a number of well-received plays such as Feroz Khan’s Mahatma vs Gandhi, Manav Kaul’s Mumtaz Bhai Patangwale and Vikram Kapadia’s Tuglak to name a few. 

Reminiscing his times with Basra, Vikram Kapadia said that he and the late actor had become "learning buddies" while attending Urdu classes at Mumbai University. "I am yet to make sense of this news since he was such a positive and jovial person. He often invited me to come and visit him in Himachal Pradesh," he stated. 

Apart from appearances in theatres and various television shows, Asif Basra has starred in numerous notable films such as Black Friday, Parzania, Outsourced, Jab We Met, Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai, Kai Po Che, Krrish 3, Ek Villain, Kaalakaandi and Hichki. He is best known to Tamil cinema fans for playing a character named Rajiv in Suriya's 2014 film, Anjaan, under Lingusamy’s direction. Earlier this year, he was seen in web series shows like Paatal Lok and Hostages season 2. Condolences and tributes have been pouring in for Basra on social media from celebrities and people from all walks of life.