Indian actress Sridevi’s death might have sparked speculation, but after Dubai prosecutor’s office said it was closing the case following completion of investigations, the focus shifted back to the funeral scheduled for Wednesday afternoon.
The prosecutor’s office said forensic report had stated that she had died from “accidential drowning” in her bathtub, after losing consciousness. The case had been closed, the prosecutor’s office said.
Her body was handed over to her bereaved family on Tuesday as no foul play was apparently suspected by the investigators.
A tweet from the official feed of the Government of Dubai Media Office read: “The decision to release the body came after all the investigations and procedural matters followed in such incidents were completed, in order to determine all its circumstances and ensure that justice was done within the framework of the law.”
After completion of embalming, Sridevi’s body was taken to Dubai airport. Her body will reach Mumbai on Tuesday night in a private aircraft, 72 hours after her death.
According to a statement on behalf of Sridevi’s husband Boney Kapoor, their daughters Khushi and Janhvi, and the entire Kapoor and Ayyappan (Sridevi’s side) families, the body will be kept for three hours at the Celebration Sports Club, Andheri west, near her residence from 9.30 a.m onwards to enable people and her fans pay their last respects.
The final journey of the star, best known for her performances in iconic Bollywood films like “Mr. India”, “Nagina”, “Sadma”, “Chandni” and “Khuda Gawah”, will commence at 2 p.m. from the club to the Vile Parle Seva Samaj Crematorium & Hindu Cemetery at S.V. Road in Vile Parle west, where it will reach around 3.30 p.m.
As per present arrangements announced, media will not be permitted either inside the the club or the crematorium.
For three days, the Dubai police authorities completed various legal and medical formalities before the the body was finally handed over to the Kapoor family on Tuesday afternoon.
On Saturday evening, Sridevi, who in Dubai to attend the marriage function of actor Mohit Marwah, drowned in the bathtub of room number 2201 at the Jumeirah Emirates Towers Hotel here.
The Dubai Police had also recorded the statement of Sridevi’s husband Boney Kapoor, a film producer. According to Gulf News, he was called to the Bur Dubai police station for questioning. The police took his statement after which he was allowed to return to his hotel.
The overall investigation into her death began early on Sunday morning.
The actress’ body was at the General Department of Forensic Evidence, here, since 2.30 a.m (Tuesday).
It was also reported by Khaleej Times that the laboratory results revealed she had consumed alcohol and was in an inebriated state when she slipped and fell into the bathtub that was filled with water.
The police said that there was no clear criminal motive with regard to her death, neither did she suffer a cardiac arrest like how it was reported earlier.
A day after Sridevi died, celebrities like Karan Johar, Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, Javed Akhtar, Shabana Azmi, visited the late actress’ brother-in-law and actor-producer Anil Kapoor’s residence in Mumbai to offer condolences to the grieving family.
Sridevi, who made a comeback to Bollywood in 2012 with “English Vinglish” after a break of 15 years, was last seen on the big screen in “Mom” in 2017.
