Sunanda Pushkar's death due to poisoning: Delhi Police

The Delhi Police on Tuesday stated that a case has been registered with regard to the death of former union minister Shashi Tharoor's wife Sunanda Pushkar, adding that medical reports have indicated that her demise was due to poisoning.

"The medical board gave us its report which stated that the death was unnatural and was due to poisoning. The report also speculated that the poison could have been administered orally or it could also have been injected," Delhi Police Commissioner BS Bassi told the media.

"Unfortunately, the quantification of poisons cannot be done in India, so we will be sending the samples abroad. In order to do so, we had to register a case; thus we have done the needful. We have registered an FIR under IPC Section 302," he added.

However, Bassi denied allegations of deliberate delays in the case, despite the FIR being registered almost a year after Pushkar's death.

"This case was looked into by the sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) and then the doctor had given a report which was interim in nature. Then certain information was sought by the doctor, that information was given to the medical board. The medical board examined that information and thereafter they sought some further clarifications," he said.

"Information was gathered and information was submitted. Now, a final report has been given which says that the death was not natural, death was due to poisoning," he added.

Pushkar, who married Tharoor in 2010, had checked into The Leela Hotel in Chanakyapuri a day before her death on January 17, 2014.

Tharoor's aides said the couple had checked into the luxury hotel because of renovation work at his Delhi bungalow.

Prior to her death, Sunanda was embroiled in a spat with Pakistan-based journalist, Mehr Tarar, whom she accused of stalking her husband.