Sunanda Pushkar died of poisoning, says Delhi Police

In a sensational turn of events, the Delhi police have registered a case of murder against ‘unknown persons’ in connection with the death of Sunanda Pushkar, wife of former Union Minister Shashi Tharoor. This startling development comes nearly a year after Sunanda Pushkar, wife of former Union Minister Shashi Tharoor, was found dead at a hotel room in Chanakyapuri, New Delhi. 

File Picture: Sunanda Pushkar

Delhi Police Commissioner B.S. Bassi, disclosing this development on Monday said that the conclusions made in a medical report submitted to them on December 29 confirmed that Pushkar was poisoned. He however hastened to add that it was not clear whether she had consumed the poison on her own or it was administered forcefully or by injection.

The report, prepared by the Department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences after studying the viscera report, contradicted the preliminary report, which concluded that it was caused by “overdose of Alprax.”

The new report, it is learnt, rules out the presence of Alprax in the body. 

“To ascertain the quantity of poison we will have to send the samples abroad as it cannot be done in the country. For sending the viscera samples outside India for tests, we are required to register a case which we have. Further, medical reports make it amply clear that it was a case of unnatural death and hence section 302 (murder) of Indian Penal Code has been invoked,” he said. 

The police also said that if needed, Mr. Tharoor could be called for questioning about the incident, which took place on January 17 last year.