Sunjay Kapur's Death Being Treated As "Non-Suspicious": UK Police

London:

The British police on Tuesday said that the death of industrialist Sunjay Kapur at a polo club in Surrey is being treated as "non-suspicious".

The statement from Surrey Police came in response to a PTI query around Kapur's mother, Rani Kapur, approaching UK authorities for an investigation into her son's death under "highly suspicious and unexplained circumstances".

Kapur, 53, former Chairman of auto components major Sona BLW Precision Forgings (Sona Comstar), passed away on June 12 while playing polo at the Guards Polo Club, Windsor Great Park, in the village of Virginia Water in Surrey.

"Police were called to the Guards Polo Club in Virginia Water just after 5 pm on Thursday, 12 June, following the death of a man in his 50s at the location," Surrey Police said in the statement.

"Colleagues from South East Coast Ambulance also attended and confirmed that the man had sadly died at the scene. His death is being treated as non-suspicious. As we are not treating this as a criminal offence, any further queries should go via the Coroner's Office," the statement said.

The Surrey Coroner's Office has been approached for details, even as a coroner's report from the office of Kapur's wife - Priya Sachdev Kapur - has been referenced across Indian media reports, giving the industrialist's cause of death as the result of "left ventricular hypertrophy and ischemic heart disease". Both relate to breathing difficulties resulting in a heart attack.

"She (Rani Kapur) has been seeking details, asking for the post-mortem report... suddenly today, from the media, she gets to know that there is a post-mortem report, which dates back to July 6 if I'm not mistaken. But till date, she has not been provided with a copy from any source," said Senior Advocate Vaibhav Gaggar, who is representing Kapur's mother.

Asked if his client's concerns remain even after the report being referenced in the media, Gaggar said: "Absolutely, in fact it only reaffirms her suspicions quite tremendously. There are lots of gaps if it is looked into deeply. Just as an example, throughout, we were given to understand that this is a bee sting that did this. There is no mention of any bee or a sting, anything whatsoever in this report.

"And, her statement was quite clear that this is being made out to be a freak accident or a very natural death but this needs to be looked into in the conspectus of facts which transpired around the death - before, during and after. Obviously, all those suspicions remain very much there and this report has only aggravated those suspicions." Gaggar asserted that as an elderly grieving mother, Rani Kapur's focus is neither money nor power but a "deeper, proper, neutral, independent investigation" into the death of her son "in the pink of his health otherwise".

"It just does not add up for her and that, as of now, is going to remain her fight," said the advocate, who also pointed to the "injustice" of her not having any access to any funds.

Kapur was the owner of the Aureus polo team and well known on the circuit, reportedly also playing polo with William, the Prince of Wales and heir to the British throne. At the time of his sudden death, the club said Kapur passed away after "becoming unwell" while playing in a match at its Smith's Lawn. Some reports had referred to a bee sting that may have triggered an anaphylactic shock causing a heart attack.

Following his demise, Sona Comstar's board appointed Jeffery Mark Overly as the chairman on June 23. In a letter dated July 24 to the board, Rani Kapur alleged that while the family mourned the death of Sunjay Kapur last month, some people chose to wrest control and usurp the family legacy.

Rani Kapur had also sought postponement of the company's AGM, which included a resolution to appoint Priya Sachdev Kapur as a non-executive director. The company's shareholders on July 25, however, approved that appointment with a requisite majority.

Previously, Rani Kapur has referenced a will dated June 30, 2015, to claim she is the sole beneficiary of her late husband Surinder Kapur's estate and accordingly a majority shareholder of the Sona Group, including the auto components firm. However, in a regulatory filing, Sona Comstar claimed that, as per the company records, she has not been a shareholder of the company at least since 2019.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)