Sridevi died of accidental drowning; body unlikely to be sent back today

Smita Sharma
Tribune News Service
Dubai, February 26

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Bollywood actor Sridevi died of accidental drowning in her hotel bathtub after losing consciousness, the Dubai government said on Monday, giving a dramatic twist to her sudden death that has stunned legions of fans and industry colleagues.

Although Dubai medical authorities said in their medical report that it was a case of “accidental drawning (drowning)”— misspelling the word—a tweet from the official account of Dubai government’s media channel later merely put the cause of death as “drowning”.

“Following the completion of post-mortem analysis, @DubaiPoliceHQ (Dubai Police Headquarter) today stated that the death of Indian actress Sridevi occurred due to drowning in her hotel apartment’s bathtub following loss of consciousness. Dubai Police has transferred the case to Dubai Public Prosecution, which will carry out regular legal procedures followed in such cases,” informed the Dubai government media channel on Twitter. 

Her death was being put down to “cardiac arrest” until Sunday.

However, when her body would be brought back to India remains uncertain, with Indian diplomats currently engaged in completing paperwork.

Indian Ambassador to UAE Navdeep Suri said: “We are trying our best to see if mortal remains can be flown back tonight. But not all things are under our control. Medical and Police procedures are still underway”. 

He said that subject to clearances, the body would be handed over to Indian authorities, and would be send for embalming before being sent to India on her journey home.

“Officials of the consulate have been on this since yesterday and have been in constant touch with the most senior officials of the Dubai Police so as to expedite the process. An official of the Indian consulate has been at the police station since morning and with the family. There is also an Arabic-speaking official with the family so that there is no interpretation issues involved. We are doing whatever we can from our side to ensure this happens as smoothly as possible,” Suri said.

It is not clear what caused Sridevi, 54, to lose consciousness, and whether the initial report of her death due to cardiac arrest still holds. Her death, which was first reported at around 3 am on Sunday in India, sent shock waves across the country with those who knew her at a loss to explain how she could have suffered cardiac arrest at such a young age.

The latest report of accidental drowning only deepens the mystery surrounding her death. Her family has not commented beyond their initial statement on Sunday to announce the death, and has requested the media to not contact them as they deal with the tragedy.

Sridevi is survived by her husband, filmmaker Boney Kapoor and two daughters.

The Dubai-based Gulf News said in a report that the actor was under the influence of alcohol. She fell into the bathtub and drowned, it added. However, this could not be independently confirmed.

Gulf News also attached a copy of the UAE government's forensic report on its Twitter handle. The report, citing accidental drowning as the cause of death, has a stamp of the "Ministry of Health UAE" and the director of preventive medicine, Dubai, Dr Sami Wadie.

The report mentions the actor's full name, "Sreedevi Boney Kapoor Ayyappan", her passport number, date of the incident (February 24, 2018) and cause of death.

"The investigation is still going on to determine the circumstances surrounding the accident as the forensic report only says that she drowned,” Gulf News quoted an official as saying.

Her body has been sent for embalming, the newspaper said. It is not clear when the body will be brought back to India.

Sridevi was in Dubai for a family wedding, and had stayed back after the ceremonies. Her husband had flown back to Mumbai with their younger daughter Khushi, but he had returned to Dubai to surprise her, according to Khaleej Times.

He was reportedly in the room when Sridevi went to the bathroom to get ready for a dinner, according to Khaleej Times. It said Kapoor discovered her unconscious in the bathtub filled with water. She was rushed to the hospital where she was declared dead on arrival.

Meanwhile, Indian Ambassador to UAE, Navdeep Suri said: “We are trying our best to see if mortal remain can be flown back tonight. But not all things under our control. Medical and police procedures still underway. Once that is over the body will be handed back to Indian authorities. Post that, embalming will take place if the embalming departments are not closed by then subject to what time body is handed over“.

Paperwork for immigration and airport clearance for the flight on stand-by is happening simultaneously, he added.

Officials of the consulate have been on this since yesterday and have been in constant touch with the seniormost officials of the Dubai Police so as to expedite the process, Suri said, adding an official of the Indian consulate has been at the police station since morning and with the family. "There is also an Arabic speaking official with the family so that there is no interpretation issues involved. We are doing whatever we can from our side to ensure this happens as smoothly as possible," he added.

In Mumbai on Monday, many Bollywood celebrities visited the home of actor Anil Kapoor, the brother of Boney Kapoor. Sridevi's two daughters, Khushi and upcoming actor Jahnvi are staying at the house.

Among those who visited to condole Sridevi's death were Farah Khan, Farhan Akhtar, Tabu, Saroj Khan, Rekha, Rani Mukherji, Karan Johar, Manish Malhotra and Anupam Kher.

Police officials at Anil Kapoor's house said as many as 150 people from Karnataka came to pay homage to Sridevi, while another group from Telangana gathered outside the actor's Lokhandwala residence. Fans from Rajasthan and other parts of India had also arrived.

Before making it big in Bollywood in late 1970s, she was already an established star in South India with many hits in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam movies.

At Kapoor's house, police have increased security and cordoned off the area to keep fans at a distance. With PTI