Four years and four months after the mysterious death of Sunanda Pushkar in a five star hotel in New Delhi, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) assigned to probe the case submitted the final report at the Patiala House Court on Monday, terming the incident a suicide and not murder.
The Delhi police charged senior Congress leader and Pushkar’s husband Shashi Tharoor with abetting her suicide, claiming there was enough evidence to proceed against him.
The police also alleged that Mr. Tharoor had subjected his wife to cruelty.
The Congress leader has been charged under Sections 498A (husband or his relative subjecting a woman to cruelty) and 306 (abetment of suicide) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). While Section 498A entails maximum punishment of three years in prison, Section 306 attracts a maximum jail term of 10 years.
“The Delhi police has filed the chargesheet on medico legal and psychology analysis. We have also submitted the concerned report in the Supreme Court. Mr. Shashi Tharoor is a verified person in the charge sheet and he was always available during the investigation,” said Delhi police spokesperson Deependra Pathak.
Tharoor to fight chargesheet
Following the SIT charge sheet on Monday, accusing him of subjecting his wife Sunanda Pushkar to cruelty and abetting her suicide in 2014, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor responded on Twitter: “I have taken note of the filing of this preposterous charge sheet & intend to contest it vigorously. No one who knew Sunanda believes she would ever have committed suicide, let alone abetment on my part.”
Questions methods
Mr. Tharoor said, “If this is conclusion arrived at after 4+ yrs of investigation, it does not speak well of the methods or motivations of the Delhi Police.”
He pointed out that “In Oct. 17, the Law Officer made a statement in the Delhi High Court that they have not found anything against anyone & now in 6 months they say that I have abetted a suicide. unbelievable!”
Sources in the SIT probing the 2014 death of Sunanda Pushkar in a suite of a five star hotel in the national capital said the fact that she had been consuming a large number anti-depressant pills without prescription and her frequent public spats with Mr. Tharoor all point to her committing suicide.
However, no suicide note was recovered from the hotel room and Pushkar’s son Shiv Pushkar had also given a clean chit to Mr. Tharoor.