MUMBAI, 29 Nov 2008: Hema Kassipillay, the Malaysian woman who had been reported missing since the terror attacks in this city on 26 Nov, has been found dead.
The body of Hema, 51, who had stayed at the Taj Mahal Hotel, scene of the worst of the militant attacks, was found by a medical team in her room at 6pm (Indian time) today.
The burnt and decomposed body was found in Room 637 on the 6th floor, which was burned down by the terrorists when they seized the hotel on Wednesday evening.
Hema, who was from Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur, is believed to have died of smoke inhalation. A post mortem conducted at Sir Jamshedji Jeejibhai Hospital found no injuries on the body caused by gunshots.
According to a friend of her family, who spoke to Bernama on condition of anonymity, Hema’s body was identified by her husband, K Sivakumaran, from the ornaments on her.
Hema’s body was removed from the hotel after Indian Black Cat commandoes had killed the last of the militants earlier today.
Her remains are expected to be flown to Kuala Lumpur on 1 Dec.
Hema, who had worked for a company based in Kuala Lumpur, had arrived in Mumbai on an official trip.
The hotel was seized by a band of terrorists on 26 Nov night, a day after Hema had arrived. She was scheduled to have returned to Kuala Lumpur on 5 Dec.
Since the attacks, there had been no trace of Hema, her husband Sivakumaran had told Bernama in an interview here earlier.
He had said that her colleagues had had contact with her until 1am on 27 Nov. — Bernama
