Magistrate records Tharoor's statement in wife's death

Union minister Shashi Tharoor on Sunday recorded his statement before the sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) investigating the death of his wife, Sunanda Pushkar. Pushkar was found dead under mysterious circumstances at Hotel Leela Palace here.

During his half-an-hour deposition at SDM Alok Sharma’s office in southwest Delhi, Tharoor is understood to have narrated events prior to the death of his wife.

Sunanda, 52, was found dead in her hotel suite on Friday night, two days after her twitter spat with Pakistani journalist Mehr Tarar over an alleged affair with Tharoor.

However, Sunanda and Tharoor later issued a joint statement declaring they were happily married.     

Though there was no official word on what the 57-year-old minister said in his recorded statement, sources said he was asked about the events in the last few days before the death of his wife. The minister left without speaking to the media after recording his statement.     

Earlier, in a letter to Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde, Tharoor offered his full cooperation in the probe into the death of his wife and said he was "horrified to read the reckless speculation rampant" in the media. In the letter, Tharoor said the relevant authorities should be asked to expedite the investigation and come to a rapid conclusion, so that the truth emerged at the earliest regarding Sunanda's death.     

The doctors, who conducted a post-mortem on the Sunanda's body yesterday, had said she died a "sudden unnatural death" and her body bore several injury marks.     

Pushkar had accused Tarar of "stalking" her husband and trying to "break" her marriage when she was away for medical treatment. The Pakistani journalist rubbished the charges of having any relationship with Tharoor.