Sridevi drowned in bathtub of hotel room in Dubai

She became unconscious before her death, say police

Sridevi at the International Film Festival in Marrakech in 2012.

Initial investigations by Dubai Police and forensic reports suggest that veteran actor Sridevi drowned in the bathtub of her hotel room in the United Arab Emirates’s biggest city.

The police believe Ms. Sridevi became unconscious before drowning.

The actor’s body was yet to be returned to India till late Monday evening and her cremation is now likely on Tuesday, even as hordes of fans from across the country descended upon her residence in Mumbai as well as that of her brother-in-law, actor Anil Kapoor.

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The forensic report was released to a family member, Saurabh Malhotra, and a representative from the Indian Embassy, that is supporting the family to deal with the legal processes and ensure a smooth return home of the actor’s body.

Police are trying to establish the sequence of events before her death.

“Following the completion of post-mortem analysis, Dubai Police today [Monday] 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 the Dubai Public Prosecution (department), which will carry out regular legal procedures followed in such cases,” the police department said in a statement on its social media handle.

Police are now trying to find out who was with her at the time of the incident.

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

An official source informed The Hindu that Sridevi’s passport was cancelled by the Indian Embassy in Dubai in keeping with the official procedure. Indian envoy Navdeep Suri offered support to her family.

At the time of going to press, Sridevi’s body continued to remain in the morgue. Once the Public Prosecutor clears it, the body will be handed over to the family, which will then take it for embalming before flying to Mumbai.

The cremation is not expected to take place before Tuesday afternoon.

Sources from UAE also confirmed that the Dubai Police had cleared the passage for the repatriation of her physical remains.