Had differences with Sunanda, Tharoor told police

Former minister and Congress leader Shashi Tharoor had told police in a statement on January 19 last year that he had differences with his deceased wife Sunanda Pushkar.

Sunanda was found dead in her room in a hotel in January last year. The police on Tuesday registered a case of murder against unknown people after medical reports suggested she died of poisoning.

In his statement to Delhi Police recorded on January 19, 2014, accessed by Headlines Today, Tharoor had admitted that he and Sunanda had differences. Tharoor also said that Sunanda had raised her voice during an argument but the differences were resolved soon. Tharoor said he returned to find Sunanda dead in the hotel room.

"I returned home in the evening when Sunanda was sleeping. I instructed Narayan, our domestic help,  to let him know when she woke up. I went to Leela and stayed with her till 6:40 am. We had a minor argument at night during which she raised her voice but by 2 am she had become calm and we continued talking. She had difficulty in sleeping at night, she had insomnia and was dependent on Alprax to sleep.  She was also not eating for two days. She had cream of mushroom soup on 16th and lunch time form my own hands and had only had coconut water. She had vomiting sensation when she was thinking about food," Tharoor had told police.

"I entered the bedroom of the suite asking 'Darling..How are you feeling?' There was no reply. She was unnaturally still. I placed my hand on her forehead to check for fever and found it very cold and her hands were stiff. I immediately called the others and telephoned the hotel to call a doctor but it was already too late," he had added.

The FIR filed in the Sunanda Pushkar death case clearly mentioned the cause of death to be poisoning. There was no clear mention of whether the poison was administered orally or through injection. However, the FIR has a reference of a injury mark caused by an injection needle.

"The autopsy board opined the cause of death to the best of my knowledge and belief in this case is poisoning. The circumstantial evidences are suggestive of alprazolam poisoning," the FIR read.

"All the injuries mentioned are caused by blunt force, simple in nature, non- contributing to death and are produced in scuffle, except injury number 10 which is an injection mark," the report added.

A week before businesswoman Sunanda Pushkar's first death anniversary, the Delhi Police is still trying to piece together evidence to form a clear picture of what exactly happened on the night of January 17, 2014 in the couple's suite at a Chanakyapuri hotel.

With the probe now being pursued from the angle of homicide, the police are looking afresh at reports of marital discord between Sunanda and her husband Shashi Tharoor, who on Friday issued a media statement articulating his "concern" over the investigation so far.

Sources said on Friday the police are also planning to question Pakistani journalist Mehr Tarar, whom Sunanda had termed an ISI agent and accused of "wooing" Tharoor over the course of several scathing tweets in the days before her death. Tarar had not held back, taking to Twitter to call Sunanda a "dumb blonde" in an equally derisive attack.

The Delhi Police will reportedly send Tarar a questionnaire by email. After the police on Tuesday invoked the IPC section pertaining to murder as they registered an FIR in the case, Tarar said she is ready to answer all questions in connection with Sunanda's death.

As a fresh list of people to be interrogated is drawn up, however, the statement purportedly made by Tharoor's domestic help Narayan Singh is stirring up a storm.

The MP's personal assistant Rakesh Kumar Sharma is said to have emerged as a new person of interest after Singh reportedly confessed to the Special Investigation Team (SIT) that he was the one who provided Sunanda with Alprax tablets, two empty packets of which were found by her body without a valid prescription.

"Singh told the SIT that R.K. Sharma used to bring the tablets for her," an officer privy to the investigation said.

Sources said Sharma was present in the hotel when Sunanda was found dead and is likely to be questioned in the coming days.

Meanwhile, The Delhi Police Saturday said they do not plan to call Congress leader Shashi Tharoor for questioning in his wife Sunanda Pushkar murder case any time soon.

"The city police will first question the other 11 people including Pushkar's son Shiv Menon, her two brothers Ashish Dass and Rajesh Pushkar and her cardiologist Rajat Mohan," an official said.