Shashi Tharoor’s wife Sunanda Pushkar found dead in a Delhi Hotel

mangaloretoday.com

New Delhi, Jan 17, 2014: Sunanda Pushkar Tharoor, wife of Union Minister Shashi Tharoor, was found dead at a five-star Hotel Leela Palace in Delhi on Friday night. Delhi Police sources say it could be a case of suicide. She was found dead in room number 345 of the hotel.

The body of 52-year-old Pushkar, a woman entrepreneur who married the Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala, was found on the bed of the room. Police officials say there were no external injury marks on her body.

 

 

Shashi Tharoor found her dead after he returned at around 8 PM from the All India Congress Committee session at the Talkatora Stadium in New Delhi.

Police sources say Sunanda checked in to the hotel on Thursday and was last seen at 3.30 PM on Friday in the hotel lobby. The house keeping staff knocked at her room’s door at 7:30 PM but there was no response, sources say. The room was opened with another swipe card and her dead body was found on the bed.

Shashi Tharoor’s personal secretary Abhinab Kumar said that Sunanda Pushkar was staying in Hotel Leela from Thursday.

"Sunanda was found dead in her hotel room at around 8:30 PM, we informed the police about the incident, she had come to this hotel since Thursday," added Abhinab Kumar.

The incident comes within 24 hours of Pushkar being involved in a verbal spat with popular Pakistani columnist Mehr Tarar following the alleged hacking incident of her husband’s Twitter account.

 

Sunanda Pushkar had called Mehr Tarar an ISI agent and accused her of trying to create trouble in her marriage. Mehr Tarar expressed her shock over the tragic turn of events.

"I just woke up and read this. I’m absolutely shocked. This is too awful for words. So tragic I don’t know what to say. Rest in peace,Sunanda," she tweeted.

"What the hell. Sunanda. Oh my God," said another tweet from her.

Sunanda had been diagnosed with Lupus and stomach TB. She had a son from a previous marriage and had been helping Tharoor with his election campaign. She was living in the hotel as there were some repair works going on in her house.

A SDM level/ inquest enquiry has been ordered under Section 176 as her marriage with Shashi Tharoor was less than seven years old.

After the tragic incident, the couple’s son Ishan Tharoor tweeted, "I would request that everyone please respect our family’s privacy at this moment."