Editorial, "ACCIDENTAL DROWNING!", in LAW ANIMATED WORLD, 28 February 2018, Vol. 14, Part 1, No. 4 issue

ACCIDENTAL DROWNING!

And that in a handful of water! – the reference here is to the heckling rebuke in Urdu – “Chullu bhar paani mein doob maro!” [Go, die drowning in a handful of water!]. That was somewhat nebulous to understand but this ‘live tragedy’ in Dubai now opens to its real meaning. So, at last, one of the most talented actresses of the Indian silver screen, the lady who captivated millions of Telugu hearts as the ‘atiloka sundari’ [trans-world beauty], is no more. This editor was suspicious from the beginning and posted on his FB timeline on 26-02-18 that – “My initial fears confirmed, I now suspect it is coldblooded murder. Let thorough investigation go on and culprits be strictly punished if it is really murder. …there was mischief – [how and by whom] will be revealed only in thorough investigation. Up to then Sridevi's dead body … should be retained in Dubai itself ... If necessary a second post mortem also should be conducted by international experts. …She has no reason to commit suicide. TV9 and perhaps other channels too which … propagated [the story of] sudden heart attack [till now] …are now questioning whether it is accident or suicide? … I don't think Sridevi is such a weakling to commit suicide. Not only in [this] … but in the past too, in two other cases [of deaths of cine actors Uday Kiran and Ranganath] also 

I expressed, …stick to, [such] doubts.” And hopes were expressed to the extent that “…Dubai is not a country where suspicious deaths can be easily passed off as suicides … (except perhaps in cases involving their own elite and leaders) and hope the Dubai police and prosecution will meticulously unravel the secrets and contribute to the strict punishment of the guilty.” But soon everything seems to have been ‘sorted out’ in that Islamic monarchical State, devoid of democratic laws/ practices. The very next day this editor commented, “ANOTHER GREAT COVER-UP!? Just now news is being broadcast that clearance certificate is given to bring Sridevi's dead body to India and a chartered plane sent by Ambanis is ready to bring. All this shows high political intervention from India to undermine the criminal proceedings and search for truth regarding her suspicious death … in Dubai.” Accidental drowning could be possible only if the person is already unconscious for any reason, otherwise it is well neigh impossible to happen in a bathtub. Earlier a similar incident of death of another actress Priya Rajvansh was also sought to be passed off as suicide but the mystery was unraveled, murder detected, and the accused, some film producers et al, convicted and sentenced too – that happened in Bombay. This editor finds no reason to depart from the above doubts/opinions, and hopes that some day, somehow, and by somebody the real truth would come out.  §§§