Sunanda Pushkar was found dead in a hotel room last year.
On a day the Delhi police filed a case of murder in the death of Sunanda Pushkar, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor's wife, came another twist. (
Sunanda Pushkar was Murdered by Poisoning, Say Delhi Police)
Though various reports have suggested that death was due to poisoning, it took the police almost a year to file a First Information Report or FIR under Section 302, or murder, of the Indian Penal Code. The reason, the police have indicated, was due to the All India Institute of Medical Science or AIIMS using the word 'homicidal' in its clarification report, submitted on December 29, 2014. (
Stunned, Says Shashi Tharoor as Police Says Wife Sunanda was Murdered)
But Dr Sudhir Gupta, head of the Forensic Department at AIIMS, differs.
"We have only said death was due to poisoning," Dr Gupta told NDTV.
On being repeatedly asked whether his report mentions the word 'homicide' or 'homicidal', he said "That is for the police to decide. How can I say that?"
Sunanda Pushkar was found dead in a hotel room last year on January 17. The autopsy report stated that her death was due to poisoning, but there was no clarity on whether it was a homicide or suicide. A subsequent report from the Central Forensic Science Laboratory, however, had ruled out any traces of poison in her body. (
New Facts Necessitated Murder Case: Delhi Police on Sunanda Pushkar)
But AIIMS stuck to its stand, even sending a report to the police in September, naming a few poisons which could not be detected easily by forensic laboratories in the country.