No sign of foul play, Tharoor aide says

An aide to Minister of State Shashi Tharoor Friday night said that Sunanda Pushkar was found dead at her hotel room at 8.30 p.m. but there was "no sign of foul play".

Speaking to the media outside The Leela Palace hotel, Abhinav Kumar said: "We will not be able to give you the definite cause of death. There was no sign of foul play, no poisoning."

Pushkar, who married Tharoor in 2010, was found dead in room 345 of the hotel in south Delhi where the couple had checked in Thursday morning.

Kumar said Tharoor, who had attended the AICC session in the morning, found the room locked from inside. He thought she was sleeping.

"When he went to check on her, he found her dead at 8.30 p.m.," the aide said, adding that Tharoor immediately summoned a doctor.

The aide said the couple moved into the hotel as their house was being painted.

"They were staying here since Thursday morning. The cause (of death) is not known."