Dubai: Bollywood superstar Sridevi's mortal remains will be flown to India after the embalming process by the Dubai authorities, now scheduled on Tuesday, in the city.
Subject to the public prosecutor clearing the final rounds of the paperwork and formalities after the autopsy report and death certificates were issued on Monday afternoon, the embalming routine will begin and this normally takes one and a half hours to complete.
File image of Sridevi. Wikimedia Commons
The public prosecution has decided to investigate Sridevi's death, which occurred at the Emirates Towers Hotel on Sunday night.
A preliminary probe was ordered on Monday. A list of the people the actress had interacted with in the last 48 hours was drawn up. This list included Boney Kapoor, Sridevi's husband, who was reportedly in the hotel room at the time of her death.
It seemed to be a clear case of 'massive cardiac arrest' as was 'officially' disclosed by 'close associates' after the mega star was decalred dead on arrival at the Rashid Hospital, hardly a few kilometres from the hotel.
The forensic department and the death certificates contained the words 'accidental drowning' in the cause of death column on Monday, giving the case an intriguing angle.
The public prosecution will now be going into the causes of 'drowning', a situation made more difficult with differing reports on the circumstantial evidence which have not been made public yet.
Dubai Forensic Department officials confirmed to a local English language broadsheet on Monday that a second autopsy will not be conducted on Sridevi's body.
In the autopsy report, there was mention of alcohol traces in Sridevi's blood, giving the case yet another U-turn.
Officials have stated that it was slightly difficult to ascertain the exact time of death which, again as per varying reports, suggests took place between evening and midnight.
Police say no exceptions have been made in the case.
Earlier, India’s Ambassador to the UAE, Navdeep Singh Suri told the media that the diplomatic mission had got clearance from the Dubai authorities to release Sridevi’s body. However, this was rejected on Monday due to a further delay in the prosecution office's reluctance to clear the case.
A diplomatic source said that the new development of a further probe by the public prosecution makes the issue of body release open-ended. He added that the Indian Embassy is in talks with the Dubai authorities to get the final clearance and is hopeful it will happen soon.
Click here to follow LIVE updates on Sridevi's demise.
Published Date: Feb 27, 2018 07:51 AM | Updated Date: Feb 27, 2018 09:39 AM
