Sunanda Pushkar cremated

New Delhi: The mortal remains of Sunanda Pushkar, wife of Union minister Shashi Tharoor, were consigned to flames here on Saturday in presence of her family members.

Sunanda's 21-year-old son Shiv Menon, accompanied by Tharoor, lit the pyre at the Lodhi Road crematorium which had turned into a spectacle with mourners and media persons in large numbers.

There were emotional scenes as mourning family members wept and comforted each other and friends payed their respects to the departed soul. Wearing a white kurta-pyjama, a grieving Tharoor carried out the last rites of his wife.

Sunanda's anguished father, Pushkar Nath Dass, was escorted to the pyre by his family members where he broke into tears on seeing Sunanda's body draped in a red saree. Her son from the previous marriage, Menon could barely hold back his tears as he lit the sandalwood pyre consigning her body to flames.

It was a melancholic scene as he then embraced his grandfather and tried to console him. Tharoor and Shiv waited in the crematorium long after the people had left, till the flames of the smoldering pyre were reduced to ashes.

A three-member panel of doctors headed by Dr Sudhir K Gupta earlier had conducted an autopsy on Sunanda's body in AIIMS. 52-year-old Sunanda was found dead in her suite at the Leela Palace hotel last evening.

Sunanda and Tharoor were at the centre of a raging controversy when reports emerged that she was upset over reported text and tweet messages between her husband and Mehr Tarar, a Pakistani journalist.