Congress leader Shashi Tharoor carries the body of his wife Sunanda Pushkar before her cremation in New Delhi on January 18, 2014 (Agence France-Presse Photo)
The Delhi Police has filed a murder case in the death of
Sunanda Pushkar, wife of Congress lawmaker Shashi Tharoor. Mr Tharoor has said he is "stunned" and has assured the police of his "full co-operation." (
New Facts Necessitated Murder Case: Delhi Police on Sunanda Pushkar)
The police's First Information Report does not name anyone.
"We registered the murder case on the basis of a medical report which says that poison consumed by the victim was the cause of death. Poison was either given orally or injected in the body," Delhi Police Commissioner BS Bassi said. (
Read Entire Statement Here)
Viscera samples, he said, are being sent abroad for investigation.
Police sources said new facts in a medical report received on December 29 from Delhi's All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) necessitated a murder inquiry. The report rules out natural death, the sources said, adding that the nature of injuries found on Ms Pushkar's body will also be investigated. (
Not Clear if Sunanda Pushkar Was Murdered: Congress)
"We will interrogate and investigate whosoever required," Mr Bassi said, when asked if Shashi Tharoor would be questioned in the case.
In a statement, Mr Tharoor said, "I am stunned to hear that the Delhi Police have filed a case of murder against unknown persons in the demise of my late wife Sunanda. Although we never thought of any foul play in the death of my wife, we all want that a comprehensive investigation be conducted and that the unvarnished truth should come out." (
Stunned, Says Shashi Tharoor as Police Says Wife Sunanda was Murdered)
Sunanda Pushkar was found dead in a five-star hotel in Delhi on January 17 last year, a day after she accused a Pakistani journalist of having an affair with Mr Tharoor, in an angry Twitter exchange. Days before, she had appeared on television with her husband, declaring they were "happily married." They got married in 2010.
"Let us maintain a sense of balance. This is a complaint/FIR against persons unknown, not yet clear whether its suicide or murder. We must not sensationalise this. Let us wait," said Abhishek Manu Singhvi, spokesperson of the Congress, Mr Tharoor's party.