Shashi Tharoor may be charged with murder: Subramanian Swamy

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Subramanian Swamy said that if the internal investigation report of the Delhi Police in Sunanda Pushkar death case is "brought on record" then Congress leader and Pushkar's husband Shashi Tharoor "may be charged with murder instead of just assisting (in the) suicide".

"It transpired in Delhi Police's own internal investigation that evidence was tampered in cooperation with Shashi Tharoor. So if this inquiry report is brought on record then I think Shashi Tharoor may be charged with murder instead of just assisting (in the) suicide," Swamy told ANI.

He also alleged that the Delhi Police is resisting the move as they want to protect their former colleagues allegedly involved in tampering of evidence in the case.

"Many Delhi Police people would be suspended, subject to inquiry, prosecution and jail. So there is a resistance in present Delhi Police administration to protect their former colleagues. They don't want the report to come out but ultimately judges have to decide," said Swamy adding that a complete investigation is not possible if the tampering of evidence report is not included in the charge sheet.

Last week, a Delhi court deferred the order on two applications of Swamy seeking direction to the Delhi Police to produce a report of a vigilance inquiry conducted after Pushkar's death and to assist the prosecution in the case.

Pushkar was found dead under mysterious circumstances in a suite of a Delhi hotel on the night of January 17, 2014. The couple was staying in the hotel as their house was undergoing renovation.

Tharoor was charged under Sections 306 (abetment of suicide) and 498A (husband or his relative subjecting a woman to cruelty) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). He, however, dismissed the charge sheet terming it "preposterous".