‘Who’s giving my mother answers?’: Sunjay Kapur’s sister questions brother’s death

New Delhi: Mandhira Kapur Smith, the sister of the late businessman Sunjay Kapur and daughter of Sona Group founder Surinder Kapur, has strongly criticized the treatment meted out to her family by Sona Comstar, the company her father founded.

She said that she wants to know where the bee was. “I want to know why there was a bee story. I want to know how my brother had a cardiac arrest. Did he have a history? Because I've not seen any history. When was his last medical test? Did he check his heart? I want answers. We all want answers. My mum (Rani Kapur) asks me every day. How did this happen? He was fit. Who's giving her answers?"

On whether they would take up the matter with the authorities in London, she says, "I think it's something that my sister, my mother, and I will have to sit down and discuss and see what we want to do."

Speaking to ANI, Mandhira alleged that her mother, who had stood by her father since the company’s early days in the jewellery business before it grew into an automotive giant, has been sidelined after Sunjay’s passing.

“There should have been some respect given to my mother, who is one of the founders with my father. Sona Comstar was built because of my father,” Mandhira said, adding that her mother deserved at least a non-executive board position.

While Sona Comstar maintained that Rani Kapur has had no direct or indirect involvement in the company since 2019, Mandhira pointed out that in her letter to the board, her mother had clarified that she is the sole beneficiary of her late husband’s estate and the majority shareholder of the Sona Group, including Sona Comstar.

Mandhira further criticised the company’s decision to ask her mother to apologise for requesting a postponement of a board meeting soon after Sunjay’s death.

“She has been literally thrown on the curb. They have not cared about her or her sentiments or the fact that she is the only person who stood behind my father while he built it,” she said, alleging that her family has been treated like outsiders.

She also expressed hurt that the names of Sunjay’s siblings, including hers, were excluded from obituaries and public acknowledgments. For Mandhira, the issue extends beyond business or wealth.

“People who have not built it will only see money. People who have built it, which is us, see much more than that. We see a legacy, we see dad’s dreams,” she remarked. Mandhira also reiterated her mother’s unanswered concerns about the circumstances of Sunjay’s sudden demise.

Sunjay Kapur, 53, passed away on June 12 in the UK after suffering a cardiac arrest during a polo match. His death has sparked both personal anguish and corporate tensions within the Kapur family.