While legions of fans in India wait with anxiety for the mortal remains of Sridevi, media in UAE reports that her body won’t be released till all procedures are complete.
According to Khaleej Times, a Dubai-based publication, Dubai Police have said that they want to be 100 per cent sure before the body is released to the family.
Reports say that Sridevi’s family is currently meeting the authorities for clearance.
Dubai Police had on Monday issued the forensic report in which it has stated that the 54-year-old actress died of “accidental drowning”. It was earlier believed that the legendary actress of Hindi and south Indian cinema passed away due to a cardiac arrest.
Sridevi died on Saturday, 24 February, after 11 pm. She was in Dubai with her family to attend the wedding of her nephew Mohit Marwah. Her husband, Boney Kapoor, too, was in Dubai.
It was Kapoor who discovered Sridevi unconscious in a bathtub filled with water in her hotel room at Jumeirah Emirates Tower Hotel. She was taken to the Rashid Hospital where she was declared dead on arrival.
Kapoor was quizzed by the Dubai Police on Sunday. It was reported that he had been called to the police station on Monday. Quoting Dubai Police, Khaleej Times, however, reports that the director had not been summoned.
The Dubai Public Prosecutor is now investigating the case, which was handed over to the agency by the Dubai Police on Monday. Once the Prosecutor’s office gives the clearance, the body will be taken for embalming. It will then be flown down to India where scores of fans and celebrities have been waiting to pay their last respects to one of India’s greatest stars.
The Indian Embassy in UAE has said that authorities in Dubai are following the normal procedure in such cases.