Satish Kaushik's death: Nothing suspicious found so far; probe is on, say Delhi Police

New Delhi, March 11 (IANS) Commenting on the probe into the death of noted Bollywood actor-director Satish Kaushik (66), Delhi Police said on Saturday that in their inquiry conducted so far, nothing suspicious or foul play has come on record.

According to the police, at 2:22 a.m. on March 9, a medico-legal case information was received from the Fortis Hospital in Gurugram at the Kapashera police station which said Satish Kaushik was brought dead to the hospital from Pushpanjali in Bijwasan, Delhi.

"Thereafter, the body of Kaushik was shifted to the DDU Hospital in Delhi for inquest proceedings. As per the inquiry conducted so far, Kaushik along with his manager Santosh Rai came to Delhi on March 8 and stayed at his friend Vikas Malu's farmhouse in Bijwasan," said Rajeev Kumar, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (Southwest).

His manager Santosh told the police that they celebrated Holi till 3 p.m. on March 8 and thereafter took rest.

"No party was held in the evening or night. At about 9 p.m., Kaushik had dinner and then after taking a walk, he went to his bedroom and started watching movie clips on his iPad. At about 12 midnight, he called for his manager Santosh, who was staying in the adjoining room, and complained of uneasiness and chest pain," the officer said.

Thereafter, he was rushed to the Fortis hospital in Gurugram, where he was declared brought dead by the doctors.

"During inquiry and inquest proceedings, the place where Satish Kaushik was staying was thoroughly inspected and photographed. Nothing suspicious or objectionable was found from the spot or from the room of the deceased, except some medicines," Kumar said.

The police also examined all the witnesses who accompanied Kaushik and recorded their statements.

"The CCTV footage from the spot has also been seized and is being scanned. As per the post-mortem report, the preliminary cause of death is cardiac arrest caused by coronary artery blockage associated with coronary artery disease and the manner of death appears to be natural," the officer said.

However, a final call will be taken after the perusal of histopathology study report of the heart and FSL pertaining to the blood.

"The local police are in touch with Kaushik's family which didn't raise any suspicion about his death. In the inquiry conducted so far, nothing suspicious or foul play has come on record. However, the police proceedings are going on," the officer added.