DUBAI – On Saturday evening, India’s first female superstar Sridevi BoneyKapoor Ayyappan drowned in the bathtub of room number 2201 at the JumeirahEmirates Towers Hotel in Dubai.
Her death and the ongoing dramatic turn of events, which lasted for over 48hours, have left fans and well-wishers in India and the UAE reeling inshock.
In a striking new turn of events, sources at the Dubai Police informedKhaleej Times that the Public Prosecution will conduct furtherinvestigation with regard to circumstances that led to her drowning. Theinvestigation into her death began in the wee hours of Sunday morning, andthe late actor’s body has been at the General Department of ForensicEvidence, Dubai, since 2.30am on Sunday.
Meanwhile, sources also informed Khaleej Times that the laboratory resultsrevealed she had consumed alcohol and was in an inebriated state when sheslipped and fell into the bathtub that was filled with water.
The police also stated that there was no clear criminal motive with regardto her death, neither did she suffer a cardiac arrest like how it wasreported earlier. Her death certificate, issued by the Ministry of Healthand Prevention’s Preventive Medicine Department also stated that her deathwas due to accidental drowning.
Officials also stated that a formal medical committee, under thesupervision of senior police officials, is supervising the investigation.The police department is working beyond the working hours. Until the timeof print, the body was not released and only social workers are waiting infront of the forensic department.
The media and workers were ordered to leave the premises at 5pm, however,an Indian Consulate representative and a family member who identifiedhimself as Saurabh Malhotra, left the forensic department at noon andstarted working on the formalities towards repatriation. The exact reasonfor the delay cannot be ascertained, but as of now, papers are with thepublic prosecution department.
The Dubai Media Office Twitter account posted: “Dubai police assert thatthe case file was forwarded to the Public Prosecutor’s Office in Dubai totake the necessary legal action in accordance with such cases.” At 6pmMonday, the case was still referred to the public prosecution for furtherinvestigation.
Also, Consul-General of India Vipul stated that the Indian Consulate inDubai is continuing to wait and hope that all procedures towards therepatriation of Sridevi’s body would complete as soon as possible. “Thematters are currently entirely with the public prosecution at the moment.We are hoping that proceedings would be completed soon,” said Vipul.
The fact that the actor drowned to death has left fans and well-wishers ina state of shock, but it also left several open-ended questions on whatexactly caused her death. Though the Dubai Police have not provided all thedetails of the circumstances that led to her death, Khaleej Times spoke toa forensics expert for an opinion.
Bhoopesh K Sharma, an assistant professor and programme leader for forensicscience, Amity University Dubai, said: “Accidental drowning can occur dueto different reasons. If a person experiences physiological changes in thebody like low blood pressure, intoxication or any sudden medical emergencylike stroke, heart attack or seizures, it can result in a person becomingsemi-conscious or unconscious.”
He added: “If they are near water, this can quickly lead to an accidentaldrowning. Additionally, simple fatigue or exhaustion could result in aperson falling into a tub, unable to react in time after being submerged inwater.”
Commenting on the usual legal procedures, Anuradha Vobbiliselty, anadvocate and legal consultant at Dr Ibrahim Al Mulla legal consultantssaid, “After the completion police investigation, all death cases ofexpatriates, including natural and unnatural death, are transferred topublic prosecution department. If the prosecution feels that furtherinvestigation and another post-mortem is required, they can ask theconcerned authorities to stop the repatriation of the deceased.”
Khaleej Times had reported late last night that Sridevi was getting readyfor a dream dinner date with her husband Boney Kapoor before her death.
According to a source close to the family, Kapoor flew back from Mumbai andwent to her room at the Jumeirah Emirates Towers Hotel around 5.30pm to”surprise” her with dinner. Sridevi, Boney Kapoor and younger daughterKhushi Kapoor were in Ras Al Khaimah early last week to celebrate thewedding of her nephew Mohit Marwah.
It is said that Boney Kapoor had returned to Mumbai after the wedding, butdecided to come back to ‘surprise’ his wife. After she refused to respondto his calls, he pushed the door open only to find her lying motionless inthe bathtub. Since then, the family has been caught in a whirlwind ofpolice investigation and media frenzy leaving several questions unanswered.
Since her body has been placed in the General Department of ForensicEvidence, Dubai Police, a small trickle of fans has been consistently beenwalking into the morgue section of the forensic department.
Leena Albuquerque, General manager of Grand Home Real Estate, and MarieClare Curley, sales manager of the same company, have been friends withBoney Kapoor for over a decade. “He’s a gentleman, and real tragedy hasstruck them. We’ve come to pay our respects to the family,” said Curley.