MORE QUESTIONS THAN ANSWERS

Forensic report says Sridevi died due to ‘accidental drowning’ after she lost consciousness • Boney questioned all night by Dubai Police • Case transferred to Dubai Public Prosecution • Last remains will not be released for sometime

There is a twist in the tale. Actor Sridevi died due to ‘accidental drowning’ in her bathtub, says the forensic report of the authorities in Dubai. This negates the original theory that she had a cardiac arrest and fell into the bathtub and drowned. The post-mortem report does not mention cardiac arrest, at all.

The Dubai Police is trying to establish the sequence of events before and after Sridevi was found unconscious. When she was taken to the al Rashid Hospital, she was dead. Reports say police may question Boney Kapoor, Sridevi's husband, who was the last person to see her alive. His initial statement has already been recorded.

The actress was found in a bathtub full of water in her hotel room and the body was reportedly fairly bloated, which suggests that she had ingested considerable amount of water.

The amount of water ingested does not tally with the claim that she was in the bathroom for 15 minutes or so. A body is bloated if it has been submerged in water for fairly long. The report does not mention the degree of decomposition of the body either.

Significantly, the postmortem report says the ‘drowning’ took place after ‘she had lost consciousness’. But it does not say how that happened: In all fairness, there is a possibility of a person accidentally falling into the bathtub -- if he/she has a blackout or a stroke. One can also have a cardiac arrest in the bathtub. Similarly, one can tumble into a bathtub if one is sitting on the edge of the tub.

Incidentally, traces of alcohol were found in her blood. This has ignited the theory that she lost her balance under influence of liquor and fell into the bathtub, following which she drowned. It is not clear from the medical report the extent of intoxication. According to friends, she did not take hard drinks but there is always a possibility of ant-depressant pills being taken before a glass of wine, which could have turned into a toxic mix.

Sridevi had stayed back in Dubai for some inexplicable reason after a wedding that the entire family had attended; husband Boney Kapoor had returned to Mumbai with their daughter. Again, for some strange reason, he decided to return to Dubai after a couple of days because he wanted to ‘surprise’ her!

Even more curious is the fact that Sridevi did not stir out of her hotel room for two or three days. Only an examination of call records will explain her movements during the sojourn and her state of mind. Incidentally, she had multiple conversations with one unnamed person on the phone, media sources have claimed.

On return to the hotel, Boney offered to take Sridevi out on a dinner date; it is claimed the mishap took place while she was in bathroom and he was waiting for her to freshen up. But there is a contradiction here. The contradictory report says that the service staff at the Jumeirah Emirates Towers Hotel discovered the actor after she did not answer the doorbell. The report quoted a hotel employee as saying that they were the ones who broke open the door of her bathroom and found her lying unconscious on the floor.

It is rather strange that a man whose wife has drowned stands in the doorway and waits for medics and hotel staff to attend to his spouse. FPJ readers need to note that the police are still trying to piece together the sequence of events and find out who made the discovery.

A critical clue to the nature of ‘drowning’ is whether the ingested water was found in her lungs or stomach? Whether she fell into the bathtub can be determined from the position of the body – whether it was face down or not?

Also, a bathtub is a block of concrete and any person who falls into a tub is bound to have external injuries. Unless these critical details are fleshed out, the speculation into Sridevi’s death will continue to mount.

A critical testimony will be that of witnesses who carried Sridevi out the bathroom: if a person collapses into a bathtub, there is bound to be considerable water on the floor, which must have spilled out of the bathtub. It will also give some pointers to whether the water in the tub was kneedeep or ankle deep.

The matter has been forwarded to the special prosecution’s office.