Sridevi died of accidental drowning

Sridevi died of accidental drowning

Dubai:  Bollywood actress Sridevi died of accidental drowning in her hotel bath tub, the Dubai government said on Monday, 26^th February 2018.

The Dubai police, it said on its official Twitter handle, has transferred the case to the "Dubai Public Prosecution" which will carry out regular legal procedures followed in such cases.

"Following the completion of post mortem analysis, Dubai police headquarters today stated that the death of the Indian actress Sridevi occurred due to drowning in her hotel apartment's bath tub following loss of consciousness," the Dubai government's media office said on Twitter.

The 54-year-old actor, known as Indian film industry's first woman superstar, died in a Dubai hotel room on Saturday,  24^th February 2018 late night.

The Dubai-based Gulf News said in a report that the actor was under the influence of alcohol. She fell into the bathtub and drowned, it added.

It also attached a copy of the UAE government's forensic report on its Twitter handle. The report, citing accidental drowning as the cause of death, has a stamp of the "Ministry of Health UAE" and the director of preventive medicine, Dubai, Dr Sami Wadie.

The report mentions the actor's full name, "Sreedevi Boney Kapoor Ayyappan", her passport number, date of the incident and cause of death.

"The investigation is still going on to determine the circumstances surrounding the accident as the forensic report only says that she drowned, Gulf News quoted an official as saying.

Her body has been sent for embalming, the newspaper said.

Sridevi's sudden death has stunned her family, friends and fans. She had stayed back in Dubai after a family wedding.

Versatile Actor Sridevi passes away

Versatile Actor Sridevi passes away

New Delhi: Veteran actor of Hawa Hawai fame Sridevi, who had an illustrious career spanning over four decades, passed away on 24^th Saturday February 2018 late night/ 25^th  February Sunday 2018 wee hours in Dubai. She was 55.

The actor, wife of producer Boney Kapoor, died due to massive heart attack  late in the night in Dubai, where she had gone along with her family to attend her nephew Mohit Marwah’s wedding  reports said.

Sridevi was with her husband Boney Kapoor and daughter Khushi at her nephew Mohit Marwah's wedding function in Dubai at the time of her death. Among the rumors of news of her death as internet hoax, it was confirmed to be true by her brother-in-law Sanjay Kapoor.

While some of the family members returned from Dubai after the wedding, Sridevi, Boney and Khushi stayed back.



Sridevi Kapoor (born Shree Amma Yanger Ayyapan (13 August 1963 – 25 February 2018) was an Indian film actress and producer who starred in Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, Malayalam, and Kannada films. Regarded as Bollywood's first female "superstar", she is the recipient of six Filmfare Awards. Sridevi ranked amongst the highest paid actors in the 1990s and is considered to be the most popular actress of the era.

A versatile actor Sridevi started her career as a child artist in M. A. Thirumugam’s 1969 devotional film Thunaivan at the age of four, and continued to act as a child artist in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada films. She made her Bollywood debut as a child artist in the hit Julie (1975) and played her first adult role at age 13 with the Tamil film Moondru Mudichu (1976).



Sridevi's first leading role as an adult came in 1976 with two of India’s biggest actors — Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanth — in the K. Balachander film Moondru Mudichu. She followed that up Gayathri, Kavikkuyil and 16 Vayathinilie, with the last one being a critically acclaimed hit. Bollywood debut in 1978 with Solva Sawan.

But it was only after five years with Jeetendra-starrer Himmatwala that she gained commercial success. Her beguiling eyes, scintillating screen presence and acting prowess soon made her one of the most sought-after artistes in the Hindi film industry.

She went on a hiatus for 15 years after starring in home production — Judaai — co-starring her brother-in-law Anil Kapoor and Urmila Matondkar. It was director Gauri Shinde’s English Vinglish in 2012 that marked Sridevi’s comeback.

Her nuanced performance as a middle-class woman, learning to speak English to feel accepted by her family, won accolades, and the film was also a commercial success.

Last year, she was seen in revenge-drama — Mom — opposite Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Akshaye Khanna. She shot for a special appearance in superstar Shah Rukh Khan’s upcoming film — Zero — which releases in December. Her last film in Tamil was the Vijay-starrer Puli.

Besides Boney and Khushi, she is survived by older daughter Janhvi Kapoor, who is currently working towards making her entry into the Hindi cinema. Sridevi was step-mother to actor Arjun Kapoor and his sister Anshula, who Boney had from late first wife Mona.

SC stays criminal proceedings against Priya Prakash Varrier

SC stays criminal proceedings against Priya Prakash Varrier

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday, 21st February 2018, stayed all criminal proceedings, past and future, against Malayalam actor Priya Prakash Varrier.

Ms. Varrier’s celluloid wink during a promotional song in the yet-to-be-released film Oru Adaar Love catapulted her to fame but also spelt trouble for her.

A three-judge Bench led by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra ordered that no State across the country shall, in the future, entertain any criminal action or complaints against Ms. Varrier, the film’s director and producer in connection with the promotional song.

“We are inclined to direct that any criminal action against the petitioners in the respondent States (Telangana and Maharashtra) or in any State solely on the basis of the promotional video of the song shall remain stayed... No criminal action either by FIR or private complaint on the basis of her participation as an actress in the song shall be entertained,” the Supreme Court ordered.

Advocate Haris Beeran pointed out that multiple criminal proceedings were initiated in non-Malayalam speaking States. “There is not a single complaint filed in Kerala,” Mr. Beeran submitted.

In her petition, Ms. Varrier argued that the cases were filed on the basis of a misunderstanding that the popular Muslim folk song in Kerala offended religious sentiments.

She said the translations of the Malayalam song, which went viral online, have distorted the meaning of the song’s lyrics. The lyrics were first written in 1978 and is cherished by the Muslim community in Kerala. The film had only used the same lyrics.

“The song ‘Manikya Malaraya Poovi’ is a Mappila Song, or a traditional Muslim song from the Malabar region of Kerala, which praises the love between the Prophet Mohamed and his first wife Khadeeja. It is a part of the Muslim tradition in Kerala and does not offend any religious sentiment of any community or person,” the petition said.

Ms. Varrier borrowed a line from the order of the Supreme Court favouring the release of the movie Padmaavat to press her case for creative freedom. “When creativity dies, values of civilization corrode,” the actor quoted a past Supreme Court order of a Bench led by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra.

In a joint petition filed in the apex court with the film’s director, Ms. Varrier said the criminal proceedings instituted across several States shackled her fundamental rights to free speech and profession guaranteed under the Constitution.

“The registration of the criminal complaints and the registration of FIR by the States is nothing but a means to an end to stifle creativity,” Ms. Varrier, represented by Pallavi Pratap, argued.

After PNB, Chennai's City Union Bank Hit by similar Fraud

New Delhi: Days after the Rs 11,400 crore fraud at PNB shook the country, private sector City Union Bank on Saturday, 17^th February 2018 said it suffered three fraudulent remittances of nearly USD 2 million (about Rs 12.8 crore), News 18 reported.

Just like the fraud at Punjab National Bank (PNB), no entries of remittances were made in the ledgers of City Union Bank and transfers were pushed through the SWIFT financial platform.

"During our reconciliation process on February 7, it was found out that 3 fraudulent remittances had gone through our SWIFT system to our corespondent banks which were not initiated from our bank's end. We immediately alerted the correspondent banks to recall the funds," City Union Bank said in a regulatory filing on stock exchanges.

Of the 3 fraudulent remittance, one remittance was made through Standard Chartered Bank, New York, to a Dubai based bank for USD 5,00,000 which was blocked immediately and was returned to City Union Bank, it said.

Chennai-based City Union Bank said the transfers had been made through correspondent banks even though it had not requested the transfers.

A second transfer of 300,000 euros (USD 372,150) was routed through a Standard Chartered Bank account in Frankfurt to a Turkish account, while a third totalling USD 1 million was sent through a Bank of America account in New York to a China-based bank.

The bank said it was working with the Ministry of External Affairs and officials in Turkey and China to repatriate the funds.

"With the help of Ministry of External Affairs through Consulate General of Shanghai and Istanbul and office of the National Cyber Security Council (PMO) all possible efforts through diplomatic and legal channels are being taken to repatriate the money," it said.

The recent episode raises question mark on the efficiency of the SWIFT network as how secure it is.

The PNB fraud pertains to issuance of fake Letters of Understanding (LoUs) to companies associated with billionaire jeweller Nirav Modi by errant PNB employees which enabled these companies to raise buyers credit from international branches of other Indian lenders.

Last week, PNB had lodged an FIR with CBI stating that fraudulent LoUs worth Rs 280.7 crore were first issued on January 16. At the time, PNB had said it was digging into records to examine the magnitude of the fraud.

In the complaint, PNB had named three diamond firms -- Diamonds R Us, Solar Exports and Stellar Diamonds -- saying they had approached it on January 16 with a request for buyers credit for making payment to overseas suppliers.

The bank sought 100 per cent cash margins for issuing LoUs for raising buyers credit, which was contested by the firms saying they had availed of the facility from as early as 2010.

Nirav Modi, his wife Ami, brother Nishal and uncle Mehul Choksi are partners in Diamonds R US, Solar Exports and Stellar Diamonds, which have shops in foreign locations such as Hong Kong, Dubai, and New York.

Cauvery Verdict: Supreme Court Relief to Karnataka

Cauvery Water Dispute: Supreme Court Relief to KARNATAKA

 New Delhi: The Supreme Court in its final judgment regarding Cauvery Water Disputes on Friday, 16^th February 2018, said that Karnataka will get additional 14.75 TMC of cauvery water, Tamil Nadu will now get 177.25 instead of 192 TMC water.

The court considered the water scarcity in Bengaluru while delivering the Cauvery judgment and also said no deviance shall be shown by any state to the order.

A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra gave the cauvery verdict while hearing Karnataka’s Special Leave Petition (SLP) against the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal’s grant of a water-sharing formula between Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry.

The Cauvery verdict is being read read out by Chief Justice of India, Dipak Misra. Karnataka's advocates Mohan Katarki, Brijesh Kalappa and AG Madhusudhan Naik are present in court.

Karnataka will provide 177.25 TMC water to Tamil Nadu. Which means that Karnataka will get an additional 14.75 TMC as compared to the previous 2007 order, where it was to give 192 TMC to TN.

Bengaluru will receive an additional 4.2 TMC of water. "The pre-independence agreement is valid. Karnataka gets additional water keeping in mind the water shortage that Bengaluru is facing. A Cauvery Water Management board will be set up and they will have control over water allocation, and not the states," says Supreme Court.

"Karnataka's share has been significantly enhanced. Share of Tamil Nadu has been reduced. Bengaluru gets additional water. It will a huge relief to the people of Bengaluru," says Brijesh Kalappa, Karnataka's counsel.

The Supreme Court has decided to set up a Cauvery Water Board to look into the allocation and timely release of the water to all parties concerned. The Karnataka counsels, while talking to the media, are saying that the judgment is very favourable to them. Especially taking into account the water shortage in Bengaluru. 

The Supreme Court has said that the verdict will remain in force for 15 years, after which the apex court will monitor the implementation.

Bengaluru is second in a list of 11 cities apart from Cape Town facing the threat of running out of water based on an UN-backed study, published by the BBC.

The water share for Kerala and Puducherry remain unchanged as DMK MLA Durai Murugan has termed the verdict a 'shocker'.

Bengaluru is a growing city, hence more water is needed. Without reading the complete judgment, we cannot come to a conclusion. The Supreme Court has kept in mind the need of Bengaluru city. This judgment is satisfactory," says Congress leader, Mallikarjun Kharge.

Meanwhile, all buses on Mysore-Coimbatore and Ooty sector have been stopped.

Security has been beefed up in Bengaluru and other parts of Karnataka. Security has been heightened in Bengaluru with city police commissioner T Suneel Kumar saying that 15,000 police personnel have been deployed. In addition to this, personnel of Karnataka State Reserved Police and other forces are also on the ground.