Cops check call logs, question hotel staff, family over Sridevi’s death

Investigators in Dubai examining the circumstances of Bollywood actor Sridevi’s death questioned hotel staff and those accompanying her including her husband on Monday. They were to recreate the sequence of events leading to the discovery of her body in room number 2201 at Jumeirah Emirates Towers, reports Times of India.
Dubai police sources said clearance for the body to be taken to India would be given after questioning is completed on Tuesday. ‘There are questions that we have after seeing the post-mortem report, so we felt we had to reinvestigate the case,’ a source said.
Pending the investigation, Sridevi’s body will remain at Al Qusais morgue while the hotel room has been sealed by the police.
Dubai rules state that a death occurring anywhere outside a hospital has to be investigated thoroughly, even if it is a natural death.
According to a source, Boney Kapoor was questioned at the office of the interior ministry at Dubai DXB about the sequence of events. The family of Mohit Marwah was also questioned. Besides, the hotel’s staff was asked questions about the incident.
Sources in Dubai said Dubai Public Prosecution (DPP), will if necessary, ask for another post mortem on Sridevi’s body. It is also learned that Kapoor has been asked not to leave Dubai until DPP permits him. Meanwhile the police are examining Sridevi’s phone call records.
Sridevi’s medical records from India have also been sought. The prosecutor’s office wants to know what medical treatment she had taken before and what surgeries she underwent and if that had any bearing on her sudden death.
As per Dubai rules, the death certificate was first issued in Arabic. The attested English translation was also provided.
Kapoor’s office said in Mumbai that the body of the actress would be flown to Mumbai on Tuesday. On Monday, a 13-seat Jet belonging to the Reliance group headed by Anil Ambani was kept ready at Dubai airport to transport Sridevi’s body to India. The flight was also scheduled to take off at about 4:30pm. However, it did not as the prosecutor’s office granting final permission to transport the body out of the country was pending.
‘Following the completion of post-mortem analysis, Dubai Police on 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 Dubai Public Prosecution, which will carry out regular legal procedures followed in such cases,’ said Dubai Police.
Mindful of media speculation, the Indian ambassador to UAE tweeted later in the evening that in such cases ‘it does take 2-3 days to complete processes.’ He said the embassy was in regular contact with the actor’s family.