Kaushik was doing fine at Holi party, farmhouse owner tells police

The Delhi police on Tuesday questioned the owner of the farmhouse, where Satish Kaushik attended a party a day before his death, and his estranged wife after she alleged that her husband "was planning to get rid" of the actor-filmmaker, officials said.

Kaushik (66) died after suffering a heart attack while he was on his way to a Gurugram hospital in the early hours of Thursday.

He felt dizzy late on Wednesday night and was taken to the Fortis Hospital in Gurugram, where he was declared “brought dead on arrival," they said.

While the farmhouse owner was questioned for around three-and-a-half hours, his estranged wife was quizzed separately for nearly three hours.

The farmhouse owner joined the inquiry at 1 pm in the southwest district's Kapashera police station and was questioned regarding the sequence of events that led to Kaushik's death, the police said.

"He came around 1 pm and the questioning ended at 4.30 pm. During questioning, he told police that Kaushik had come to celebrate Holi with them and stayed at his farmhouse," a senior officer said.

"He said he knew the actor for over 30 years and they were family friends. He (Kaushik) was doing fine at the Holi party but hours later, he complained about pain following which he was rushed to the hospital," the officer said.

The farmhouse owner was present when Kaushik complained about sudden pain in his chest, he said.

When asked about allegations levelled by his estranged wife, he termed them "baseless", the officer said, adding that he will be called for questioning again in the coming days.

Meanwhile, the farmhouse owner's wife was questioned at the office of her advocate in connection with her complaint.

"She stands by her allegations but does not have any evidence to support her allegations," the officer added.

In a complaint addressed to the Delhi police commissioner, the woman had alleged that her husband had borrowed Rs 15 crore from Kaushik and did not wish to return it.

The woman claimed that she was introduced to Kaushik by her husband and on August 23, 2022, the actor visited them in Dubai and demanded Rs 15 crore from her husband.

"I was present in the drawing room where both Kaushik and my husband got involved in an argument. My husband promised Kaushik that he would repay the money soon. When I asked my husband, he claimed that he lost Kaushik's money during the Covid pandemic. My husband also said that he was planning to get rid of Kaushik,” she said in her complaint.

However, police have denied any foul play in the actor's death.

According to them, the post-mortem report stated the preliminary cause of death was cardiac arrest caused by coronary artery blockage associated with coronary artery disease and that the manner of death appears to be natural.