New Delhi, Jan 18 – Two days after she went public over her husband’s alleged affair with a Pakistani journalist, the wife of Minister of State for Human Resource Development Shashi Tharoor was found dead in a hotel suite here on Friday evening.
While Sunanda Pushkar’s death has raised suspicions of suicide, no (suicide) note has been found, reported The Times of India.
Nevertheless, police sources were more guarded late last night when they said it could be “natural or unnatural death”.
The 52-year-old’s body was reportedly found by Tharoor when he returned to the hotel in the evening after Friday’s All India Congress Committee session.
The police were informed (of the tragedy) by Tharoor’s personal secretary S. Abhinav Kumar.
The couple was said to have moved out of the minister’s official bungalow as it was given a new coat of paint.
The tragic end came even as Twitter was abuzz over the public display of anger, betrayal and accusations involving Tharoor, Sunanda and Pakistani journalist Mehr Tarar.
Those who had spoken to Sunanda in the past two days described her as “very disturbed and distraught” over her husband’s alleged relationship with Tarar.
There were also reports of Sunanda talking of divorce, although she scotched the talk on Thursday.
The police said all angles were being probed – suicide, poisoning and death due to sudden heart attack. A forensic team went to the hotel and a magistrate was called to question Tharoor and his personal secretary.
There was no apparent injury on the body which was discovered about 8pm when Tharoor opened the room. According to the report, Sunanda was last seen in the hotel lobby about 3.30pm.
The autopsy is likely to be conducted at the All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) later today.
Tharoor, who left his job at the United Nations after unsuccessfully contesting election for the secretary-general’s post, returned to India in 2008.
-Bernama
