Not cardiac arrest but accidentally drowned? Sridevi's death still remains a mystery

Mumbai/Dubai: 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.

The autopsy report, which was tweeted, had a stamp of the “Ministry of Health UAE” and the signature of director of preventive medicine, Dubai, Dr Sami Wadie.

It mentions the actor’s full name, “Sreedevi Boney Kapoor Ayyappan”, her passport number, date of the incident (February 24, 2018) and cause of death.

It is not clear what caused the actor to lose consciousness and drown accidentally in her hotel apartment’s bathtub, and whether the initial report of her death due to cardiac arrest still holds. Soon after her death, family sources on Sunday had said that the actress died of a cardiac arrest. 

According to reports, Sridevi’s body may be embalmed on Tuesday.

The incident spot has been examined by authorities and reports said that Boney Kapoor has been questioned by Dubai police. 

The Dubai-based Gulf News had said early on Monday that the actor was under the influence of alcohol, fell into the bathtub and drowned. However, this could not be independently confirmed.

There could be a further delay in Sridevi’s body being brought back to India, with the Dubai police informing the Indian embassy that another “clearance” was awaited before the body could be released.

Indian envoy to the UAE Navdeep Suri said the embassy had been informed that the Dubai police could only release the body after another “clearance”. He, however, did not say what type of a clearance was awaited.

Case transferred to “Dubai Public Prosecution” 

The Dubai government said in a tweet the police had transferred the case to the “Dubai Public Prosecution” which will carry out the legal procedures.

Her family, including her younger daughter Khushi who is at Anil Kapoor’s house, has not commented beyond their initial statement on Sunday to announce the death, and has requested the media to not contact them. Sridevi’s death, which was first reported at around 3 am on Sunday in India, sent shock waves with those who knew her at a loss to explain how she could have suffered cardiac arrest at such a young age.

Now, the Dubai Public Prosecution will carry out legal procedures. It will send the forensic report to the public prosecutor, which will assess the merits of the case and then decide on the course of action to be taken.