Tharoor in Delhi; Police says no plans as of now to quizz him

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor today returned to the national capital, saying it is his duty to cooperate in the investigation into the death of his wife Sunanda Pushkar even as Delhi Police said it will not question him as of now.

"It is my duty to cooperate with the police investigation and not to undermine the probe in any way," said Tharoor while heading back to Delhi on a flight from Kochi after a fortnight-long stay for Ayurveda treatment at Guruvayur.

A senior Delhi Police official today said they were not going to question Tharoor for now as they want to first examine all other people related to the case and look into the available evidence.

"As of now we have no business with him. We would like to question his aides and others including the hotel staff. We would like to collate all the available material relevant to the case and then take a decision on the issue of examining him (Tharoor)," he said.

Another official associated with the probe said that in a couple of days, they will move "letter rogatory" in a local court under sections of CrPC for sending viscera samples to a foreign lab in the US or UK to determine the nature and quantity of the poison which caused her death.

"A letter rogatory or a letter of request is a formal request from a court to a foreign court for some type of judicial assistance. The Indian court will request the court of the country where the viscera has to be tested to get it tested in their lab. After tests, the lab will send the report to their court which would be routed to our court," he said.

This procedure will ensure that the test reports have legal sanctity and they are admissible in court, he added.

Tharoor, who arrived at the IGI airport here late afternoon, did not speak to media persons present there, and went straight to his house in Lodhi Estate in central Delhi.