Sridevi passes away: After initial confusion over cause of actress' demise, mystery now surrounds time of death

The sudden death of the actress Sridevi seems unlikely to leave the news cycle anytime soon as confusion abounds over her death in Dubai. Cause of death On Monday, IANS reported diplomatic sources as saying that the Dubai Police had transferred the case to Dubai Public Prosecution following revelation that she died due to “accidental drowning” in her hotel room. Later, a Dubai Police forensic report stated that 54-year-old Sridevi died due to “accidental drowning” in the bathtub of her hotel room here before her dinner date with husband and film producer Boney Kapoor. This development came a day after media reported that she had died due to a cardiac arrest on Saturday night. Another twist came with the mention in the forensic report of traces of alcohol in her blood — with some media reports claiming that it was found to have been at “elevated levels”. Sharing the image of the forensic report, Gulf News stated that Sridevi, who had traces of alcohol in her blood, lost balance and fell into the bathtub and drowned. However, this could not be independently confirmed. The latest report of the accidental drowning has added new layers to the mystery surrounding Sridevi’s death at the age of 54. It is not clear what caused the actor to lose consciousness, and whether the initial report of her death due to cardiac arrest still holds. [caption id=“attachment_642379” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Sridevi. Image courtesy: IBNLive[/caption] According to a post on the official Dubai Media Office Twitter handle, Dubai Police has transferred the case to Dubai Public Prosecution, which will carry out regular legal procedures that are followed in such cases. “The investigation is still going on to determine the circumstances surrounding the accident as the forensic report only says that she drowned,” an official told Gulf News. The police is trying to piece together the sequence of events and ascertain what exactly happened. A chief prosecutor told Gulf News: “In such accidental death incidents, the results of the postmortem and forensic examination reports are referred to the Public Prosecution as part of ordinary law enforcement procedures. The papers are revised by the prosecutors of the jurisdiction where the incident happened. An official order to hand over the body of the deceased to the family or relatives is issued shortly after that.” Time of death Earlier reports said that the actor was getting ready for a dinner date with her husband. Boney flew to Dubai from Mumbai and went to her room at the Jumeirah Emirates Towers Hotel at around 5.30 pm on Saturday to “surprise” her with the dinner, a source close to the family told the Khaleej Times. He woke her up and the couple chatted for about 15 minutes before he invited her for dinner, said the report. She then went to the washroom. After 15 minutes had passed and Sridevi did not come out, Boney knocked on the door to check on her. When he got no response, he forced open the door to find the actor lying motionless in the bathtub full of water, the source said. “He tried to revive her and when he could not, he called a friend of his. After that, he informed the police at 9 pm,” he added. The police and paramedics rushed to the site, but she was pronounced dead. However, conflicting reports are now emerging that her time of death was 10.01 pm, which throws the entire previously established timeline into disarray. Sridevi, Boney, and their younger daughter Khushi Kapoor were in Ras Al Khaimah, another part of UAE, last week to celebrate the wedding of her actor-nephew Mohit Marwah. Boney had returned to Mumbai after the wedding, but decided to return to Dubai to surprise his wife. With inputs from agencies Click here for LIVE updates on Sridevi's demise