Police says Sunanda Pushkar was murdered, Shashi Tharoor may be questioned
New Delhi: Delhi Police on Tuesday registered a murder case in the mysterious death of former union minister Shashi Tharoor's wife Sunanda Pushkar.
Police changed the case to murder based on her medical reports, but nobody has been named as a suspect as yet.
The room where Sunanda Pushkar was found dead was revisited by police and forensic experts recently. The suite had remained sealed and was opened for the first time since the incident.
Delhi Police Commissioner BS Bassi said the case has been registered based on medical reports from Delhi's All India Institute of Medical Sciences received on December 29.
He said the report stated that the "death was unnatural" and "due to poisoning", either poisoned orally or poison injected. The officer said a viscera report is awaited.
Delhi Police filed the case of murder under section 302 of the IPC but no one has been named in the FIR.
"Nobody has been named in the case," Bassi told reporters in reply to questions.
Congress leader Tharoor said, “Never thought of any foul play in the death of my wife.”
All relevant witnesses were examined by SDM, will examine whoever is required to be examined: BS Bassi on Sunanda Pushkar case
— ANI (@ANI_news) January 6, 2015Shashi Tharoor is a liar, the more he opens his mouth the more trouble he is going to get into: Subramanian Swamy pic.twitter.com/6ZvQZqQMok
— ANI (@ANI_news) January 6, 2015Bassi said since tests to find out the quantum and nature of the poison cannot take place in India, the police have decided to send samples abroad for examination.
"So it was necessary that a case be registered. We have registered a case and we will investigate," he said in reply to questions.
Asked whether Tharoor would be questioned in the light of the latest development, Bassi said, "Now as we have registered a case of murder, all those people who were connected with the case will be examined."
"All the witnesses in this case were examined by the SDM, as he conducted inquest proceedings. So, all relevant witnesses were examined by him, we had also examined them under Section 174 of the Cr.PC.
"Now as we have registered a case of murder, all those people connected with the case will be examined," he said. Bassi said the AIIMS report has not specified the nature of the poison and how it was administered into her body. The substance is still not clear but the death is due to poisoning, he said.
Asked why a case was being registered one year after the incident, he said the medical report, which the police got initially was "interim".
The doctors needed certain information, which was gathered and given to them, he said, noting after that they demanded some more information.
"Now they (doctors) have given us some conclusions on the basis of available information. So on the basis of that report it was necessary to file a case and proceed further in the probe," Bassi said.
The report has not given definitive conclusion about how poison was present in the body but it has suggested more possibility of injection having been administered, he said.
Sunanda Pushkar was found dead at a five-star hotel in South Delhi on the night of January 17, a day after her twitter spat with Pakistani journalist Mehr Tarar over the latter's alleged affair with Tharoor.
