February 27, 2017
Veteran actress Sridevi's mortal remains arrived in Mumbai on
Tuesday night, around 72 hours after her sudden and shocking demise in Dubai.
Her funeral is scheduled for Wednesday afternoon.
Her body was taken to
her residence in Green Acres, Lokhandwala, from the Chhatrapati Shivaji
International Airport in a convoy. Tight security arrangements were in place
both on the way and outside the house, as a large number of fans had gathered to
get a glimpse of their beloved actress.
Sridevi's husband Boney Kapoor,
brothers-in-law Sanjay Kapoor and Sandeep Marwah, sister-in-law Reena Marwah and
stepson Arjun Kapoor were on the chartered Reliance Transport Embraer jet 135BJ
which carried her mortal remains from Dubai to Mumbai.
The late actress'
daughter Jahnvi Kapoor and other family members -- Anil Kapoor, Anshula Kapoor
and Sonam Kapoor -- were present at the airport along with business magnate Anil
Ambani and his wife Tina Ambani.
Sridevi died on Saturday night, but her
body was brought only on Tuesday as the Dubai Prosecutor's Office was
investigating the case of her death.
The prosecutor's office said
forensic report had stated that she had died from "accidental drowning" in the
bathtub of her hotel room, after losing consciousness. The case had been closed,
the prosecutor's office said.
Her body was handed over to the bereaved
family on Tuesday as no foul play was apparently suspected by the investigators.
A tweet from the official feed of the Government of Dubai Media Office read:
"The decision to release the body came after all the investigations and
procedural matters followed in such incidents were completed, in order to
determine all its circumstances and ensure that justice was done within the
framework of the law."
After completion of embalming, Sridevi's body was
taken to Dubai airport.
According to a statement on behalf of Sridevi's
husband Boney Kapoor, their daughters Khushi and Janhvi, and the entire Kapoor
and Ayyappan (Sridevi's side) families, the body will be kept for three hours at
the Celebration Sports Club, Andheri (West), near her residence from 9.30 a.m
onwards to enable people and her fans to pay their last respects.
The
final journey of the star -- best known for her performances in iconic Bollywood
films like "Mr. India", "Nagina", "Sadma", "Chandni" and "Khuda Gawah" -- will
commence at 2.00 p.m from the club to the Vile Parle Seva Samaj Crematorium &
Hindu Cemetery at S.V. Road in Vile Parle (West), where it will reach around
3.30 p.m.
As per the present arrangements, the media will not be
permitted either inside the club or the crematorium.
On Saturday evening,
Sridevi, who in Dubai to attend the marriage function of actor Mohit Marwah,
drowned in the bathtub of Room No. 2201 at Jumeirah Emirates Towers Hotel here.
The Dubai Police also recorded the statement of Sridevi's husband Boney
Kapoor, a film producer. According to Gulf News, he was called to the Bur Dubai
police station for questioning. The police took his statement after which he was
allowed to return to his hotel.
The overall investigation into her death
began early on Sunday morning.
The actress' body was at the General
Department of Forensic Evidence here since 2.30 a.m (Tuesday).
According
to a Khaleej Times report, the laboratory results revealed that she had consumed
alcohol and was in an inebriated state when she slipped and fell into the
bathtub that was filled with water.
The police said that there was no
clear criminal motive with regard to her death, neither did she suffer a cardiac
arrest, as reported earlier.
A day after Sridevi died, celebrities like
Karan Johar, Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, Javed Akhtar and Shabana Azmi,
visited the late actress' brother-in-law and actor-producer Anil Kapoor's
residence in Mumbai to offer condolences to the grieving family.
Sridevi,
who made a comeback to Bollywood in 2012 with "English Vinglish" after a break
of 15 years, was last seen on the big screen in "Mom" in 2017.