Shefali Jariwala Could Have Died Due To Low BP, Suspect Doctors: What We Know So Far

Actor-model Shefali Jariwala, who shot to fame in 2002 with the remix music video Kaanta Laga, died on June 27 (Friday). Her sudden death at 42 has sent shockwaves across the entertainment industry.

Shefali Jariwala, who was diagnosed with epilepsy at the age of 15, was also known for playing a brief role as the 'Kaanta Laga Girl' in the 2004 film Mujhse Shaadi Karogi. She also featured on reality TV shows Nach Baliye 5 and Nach Baliye 7 alongside her actor-husband Parag Tyagi. Shefali Jariwala was also seen as a contestant on the reality TV show Bigg Boss 13. 

What We Know So Far

• Shefali Jariwala was rushed to Bellevue Multispeciality Hospital in suburban Mumbai by her husband, actor Parag Tyagi, on Friday night.
• "She was brought to the hospital around 11:15 pm (Friday). The on-duty doctor declared her dead on arrival," a hospital source said.
• Initial reports into Shefali Jariwala's death suggested she died of a cardiac arrest, but the exact cause is yet to be confirmed.
• As per the findings from the initial medical examination, Shefali's death is said to have been "due to low blood pressure, cardiac arrest and heavy gastric condition".
• The postmortem was conducted at Cooper Hospital and was recorded on video. The results are expected on Monday (June 30), said Amboli police.
• According to a police official, based on preliminary information, it appears to be a natural death, and there was no foul play.
• Shefali's doctor, on condition of anonymity, told NDTV that she last visited their clinic in March, three months before her death.

What Could Have Led To Shefali's Death

A team of five doctors is analysing if medications, food poisoning, or her epilepsy caused the reported cardiac arrest.

• Mumbai Police suspect self-medication and food poisoning led to Shefali Jariwala's death, likely from cardiac arrest. She ate stale fried rice while fasting and took anti-ageing injections without recent medical supervision, they said.
• Police and forensic science laboratory experts visited Shefali Jariwala's residence where they discovered glutathione (a drug often used for skin fairness and detoxification), Vitamin C injections, and acidity pills, hinting at risky, unsupervised anti-ageing treatments, which may cause heart issues, especially while fasting.
• A source told NDTV that the actor was regularly consuming "anti-ageing medicines for the last seven-eight years".
• "There was a puja at home on June 27, due to which Shefali was fasting. Despite this, she took an injection of anti-ageing medicine in the afternoon of the same day. These medicines were advised to her by a doctor years ago, and since then she has been taking this treatment every month. So far in the police investigation, it has come to light that these medicines could be a major reason for cardiac arrest," the insider added.

What Doctors Told NDTV

According to Dr Rahul Chawla, Consultant Neurologist, Institute of Brain and Spine, IV Glutathione and IV detoxifying drips are "not guideline recommended".

• "They do have their harmful adverse effects including cardiac conduction abnormalities, arrhythmia, and hypotension. There have been multiple case reports where patients have died after taking those IV detoxifying drips and probably sudden collapse or sudden hypotension was the reason behind those deaths. However, we cannot correlate any sudden cardiac death of a person with a history of having glutathione or detox drips," Dr Rahul Chawla told NDTV.
• Shefali Jariwala's death, if caused by the reaction of the anti-ageing treatment, once again shines a light on still prevalent pressure on women, especially in the entertainment industry, to look a certain way.

Postmortem Results Likely Today

The postmortem report in Shefali Jariwala's death case is likely today, and will help determine the exact cause of the actress's death.

Shefali Jariwala was sporadic in her career as an artist in the entertainment industry due to her epilepsy, but she never really retreated into the shadows. Besides the Kaanta Laga song being her claim to fame, she remained in the public eye, courtesy stage and public events and her social media feed which was full insights into her life with her husband Parag Tyagi.

All eyes will be on her postmortem report, which is expected today.