7. 2014 Sunanda Pushkar Case (Delhi)
The high-profile case of the death of a successful businesswoman and socialite also remains a mystery till date. Congress leader Shashi Tharoor’s wife, Sunanda Pushkar, was found dead in a five-star hotel room of Delhi after an ugly fight that took place between Pushkar and Pakistani journalist Mehr Tarar on Twitter.
What Really Happened?
January 17, 2014, Sunanda was found dead in room number 345 of the Leela Palace hotel. Her husband, Tharoor, discovered her body when she did not wake up from sleep and informed the police. In the initial postmortem report, the cause of her death was determined to be suicide. However, the autopsy report by AIIMS revealed injury marks on her body. The wounds were not sufficient to establish the case as a murder, as autopsy indicated that the cause of the death was a drug overdose. It was informed that Pushkar was in depression and taking sedatives. Traces of two medicines were found on her body such as Alprazolam and Excedrin.
Why the Murder?
The cause of death is not yet established. Initially, the case was treated as a suicide. However, “poisoning”, “mysterious injection marks”, “bite marks on the palm” and controversy over Twitter messages between Sunanda Pushkar and Mehr Tarar, raised suspicions of murder rather than the tragedy being a suicide.
What’s the Status Now?
Nevertheless, the suicide debate started clearing the air when Dr Sudhir Gupta (AIIMS) claimed that he was pressurized to give a false report in the case. October 10, 2014, medical investigations claimed that she died of poisoning. January 6, 2015, Delhi Police filed an FIR regarding the same. May 15, 2018, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor was charged with “abetment of suicide” of his wife Sunanda Pushkar. The case has taken a dramatic turn recently when, on August 31, 2019, Delhi Police has urged local court to prosecute Tharoor under section 498-A (“husband or his relative subjecting a woman to cruelty”), 306 (abetment of suicide) or 302 (murder) in this case, citing poisoning as cause of death, and numerous injury marks on the body.
A Kannada film is on the way based on Sunanda Pushkar murder case, featuring Monisha Koirala as Sunanda Pushkar.
