Shashi Tharoor records statement at SDM’s office

mangaloretoday.com

New Delhi, Jan 19, 2014 (PTI): Union Minister Shashi Tharoor recorded his statement before the Sub-Divisional Magistrate in Delhi on Sunday evening in connection with the death of his wife Sunanda Pushkar.

Tharoor had earlier in the day asked Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde to expedite the probe into his wife Sunanda’s death case to bring out the truth. He said he will fully co-operate with the investigation.

 

A day after Sunanda’s cremation, Tharoor said, "I am horrified to read the reckless speculation in the media regarding this case."

Sources said that the SDM is likely to record statements of four or five people today and it includes family members and friends of Sunanda. On Saturday, two domestic aides of the couple were questioned and their statements were recorded.

Sources added that Sunanda was on anti- depressant drugs and the overdose of drugs is believed to be the most probable cause of her death.

Preliminary post-mortem report will be given by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) to the SDM on Monday. The report called her death unnatural and sudden.

The post-mortem also revealed that she had not consumed any solid food. AIIMS Forensic Head Sudhir Gupta said, "Yes, she had a sudden unnatural death. We have preserved some samples for testing."

However, the police and doctors have so far remained tightlipped about Sunanda’s death and are unwilling to comment on the cause of her death till the SDM completes his enquiry.

 

Tharoor writes to Shinde: Horrified by reckless speculation in media

Union minister Shashi Tharoor on Sunday wrote a letter to Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde offering his full cooperation in the probe into the death of his wife Sunanda Pushkar, saying he was “horrified to read the reckless speculation rampant” in the media.

 

In the letter, Mr. Tharoor said the relevant authorities be asked to expedite the investigation and come to a rapid conclusion so that the truth emerges at the earliest regarding the death of 52-year-old Sunanda at a luxury hotel in New Delhi on Friday evening.

“In the midst of my mourning, I have finally had a chance to catch up with the media reports and am horrified to read the reckless speculation rampant there.

“I am appealing to you to issue instructions to the relevant authorities to expedite their investigation and come to a rapid conclusion so that the truth emerges at the earliest,” the Minister of State for HRD said.

“I pledge full and unstinting cooperation. Nothing short of the truth will end the indignity to which my wife and I are being subject at a time when all I seek is to be allowed to grieve in private with her and my near and dear ones,” Mr. Tharoor, 57, said.

The AIIMS doctors, who conducted her post mortem, have said Sunanda had died a “sudden, unnatural” death.

A member of the autopsy team has said her body bore “some physical injuries” but it was not clear if they were related to her death.

Sunanda’s death came two days after she went public on Twitter alleging that her husband was having an affair with Pakistani journalist Mehr Tarar.

However, the next day, the couple announced that they were happily married and wanted to remain so.