Three members of an Indian family who were not responding to calls on their mobile phones since last Thursday, July 10, have been found dead in their apartment in Dubai.
The deceased have been identified as Santhosh Kumar, a filmmaker from South India, his wife Manjula and their daughter Gouri.
A family friend filed a complaint with Dubai Police on Tuesday morning, July 15. Police officials broke into the 11th floor apartment and found the bodies.
“Since Santhosh Kumar was not answering his phone, his relatives from Singapore contacted a family friend to inquire about their whereabouts.
“There was no smell coming from any flats and only this morning a Dubai Police team broke into the flat and found the bodies,” said a neighbour, who lives on the same floor of the Mega Mart Building opposite NMC Hospital, Al Nahda, Dubai.
Santhosh, a businessman in the UAE, had been involved in the direction and co-production of some popular Malayalam movies including ‘Madampy’, starring Mohanlal, and re-makes of classics like ‘Neelathamara’ and ‘Rethinirvetham’.
“I never knew that he was a famous film director or producer. I often saw him taking his daughter to school. I am shocked,” said the Indian neighbour of the deceased.