Sunanda Pushkar was murdered, says Delhi Police

New Delhi Congress leader Shashi Tharoorrsquos wife Sunanda Pushkar found dead nearly a year ago was poisoned to death the Delhi police officials said yesterday triggering demands for Tharoorrsquos resignation from the Lok SabhaDelhi Police Commissioner B S Bassi said a murder case has now been registered against lsquounknown personsrsquo and that the final medical report confirmed that Pushkar 52 died an unnatural death ldquoShe died due to poisoning Whether the poison was given orally or injected into her body is being probedrdquo he said adding her viscera would be sent abroadAlso Read Sunanda cremated body bore injury marksIn happier times Sunanda Pushkar and Shashi Tharoor PicAFPRuling out suicide Special Commissioner of Police Deepak Mishra said it was a case of ldquohomicidal poisoningrdquoA special police team has been formed to probe the murder Asked why it took almost a year for the final medical report to come Bassi said the interim report spoke of poisoning but did not say it was an unnatural death The police got the final medical report from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences AIIMS on December 29 Police sources said the murder case was registered on January 4Also Read Sunanda couldnt harm herself reports false BrotherTharoor a former central minister who is the Lok Sabha member from Thiruvananthapuram said he was stunned by the developments and assured full cooperation with police In a statement at Thiruvananthapuram Tharoor said he and the Pushkar family wanted access to all the information related to his wifersquos deathldquoI am anxious to see that this case is investigated thoroughly and I assure the police my full cooperation Although we never thought of any foul play in the death of my wife we all want a comprehensive investigation and unvarnished truthrdquoPushkar was found dead in a luxury hotel on January 17 2014 a day after she and Tharoor checked in because their house was allegedly getting painted Both had been married twice earlier Tharoor was the then Minister of State MoS for Human Resource Development in the UPA governmentA day earlier Tharoor and Pushkar had issued a joint statement saying they were ldquohappily married and intend to remain that wayrdquo following media reports that Tharoor allegedly had an affair with a Pakistani journalistThe Congress said it was not clear from Bassirsquos comments whether Pushkar killed herself or was murdered But both the BJP and the CPIM in Kerala demanded that Tharoor quit the Lok Sabha Marxist leader and former Kerala chief minister V S Achuthanandan said ldquoNow with a murder case registered Tharoor should resign and make himself available for the proberdquoKerala BJP president V Muraleedharan too asked Tharoor to give up his seat ldquoThe Congress should apologise for fielding him in the LS pollsrdquolsquoUnclear if she was murderedrsquoThe Congress yesterday said it was not yet clear whether Sunanda Pushkar committed suicide or was murdered ldquoNot yet certain whether Sunandarsquos death was suicide or murderrdquo Congress spokesman Abhishek Singhvi said He appealed that a sense of balance be maintained refraining from any sensational overtone while reporting about the case adding that the FIR was ldquojust a beginning and not an end of a legal processrdquo ldquoAs the police have also said itrsquos not at all clear that whether itrsquos a selfadministered poison or outside administered poison every person has the full right to be treated as completely innocent unless and until a process of law goes beyond and furtherrdquo