Expect Road Diversions For Funeral Today
Bella Jaisinghani & Sushil Rao | TNN (THE TIMES OF INDIA; February 28, 2018)

Iconic actor Sridevi’s body was flown into the city from Dubai on a 13-seater Embraer business jet on Tuesday night. Her husband Boney Kapoor, his brother Sanjay Kapoor and her stepson Arjun Kapoor accompanied the body on the aircraft. Arjun had reached Dubai in the morning to accompany his father and oversee the return journey.

Officials at the cargo complex cleared the documentation and the body at 9.50pm and the ambulance carrying the body left the airport through the exit gate number 1 near the international terminal 2. The ambulance was tailed by a cavalcade of cars, including those of Anil Ambani and Anil Kapoor, who had reached the airport to receive the body.

A virtual green corridor was created by the traffic police from the airport to the Kapoor residence in Green Acres in Lokhandwala Complex, Andheri (W). The movement led to a half-km traffic jam in the Lokhandwala Complex. The nearby Celebration Club, where the actor’s body will be kept for public viewing on Wednesday, was off bounds for visitors as arrangements went on inside. Traffic is expected to be cordoned off in some parts of the area on Wednesday and roadside stalls have been told to stay shut.

Before the body was flown back, the police, expecting thousands of fans, had fortified security arrangements at Green Acres as well as at the Juhu house of Anil Kapoor. A steady stream of visitors, including veterans from the industry closely associated with Sridevi, was seen at his home since Sunday, Jeetendra, who was her costar in several blockbusters in the 80s, was quoted by a TV channel saying, “An actor needs to be versatile, be good at dance, comedy and dramatics. With Sridevi, no one could fault her for any of her performances. She was always perfect.”

In Dubai, before the case was closed, the authorities questioned Boney again. A team also visited Jumeirah Emirates Towers, the hotel where Sridevi was found dead on Saturday.

The embalming certificate of Sridevi’s body given to the family mentioned that the death was due to “accidental drowning”. It mentioned that there was “no infection disease”, a requirement for the body to be shipped or sent by air. Interestingly, while the death certificate issued by the forensic department mentioned Sridevi’s age as 53 years, the embalming certificate mentioned it as 52.

A source said that an ambulance had been kept ready at the mortuary even before the letters for repatriation of the body were received. The Embraer aircraft, belonging to Ambani, was kept ready in the cargo area of the Dubai airport for the last two days.