NEW DELHI: The forensic report of Sunanda Pushkar has revealed that her death was caused by drug poisoning. Doctors say that this means that Sunanda did not die because of an inadvertent drug overdose but by deliberate administration of drugs aimed to end life. Whether this was suicidal or homicidal, the doctors are unable to say, adding that was for the police to establish.
Sources at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), where the post-mortem was conducted on Saturday, said the forensic findings have been submitted in a sealed envelope to the sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) who is holding the inquest proceedings under the provisions of the Criminal Procedural Code.
The forensic report gives a new turn to the investigations into the death. Police officials said the report will now require them to review all the video footages of the hotel lobby and check who all went to her room, including the hotel staff.
Alok Sharma, the SDM who is holding the inquest proceedings, refused to disclose the details of the report. He said he would examine it along with the statements of various people, including that of Tharoor and Sunanda's brother as well as other evidence. "I cannot say anything about the report," said Sharma, who was at AIIMS on Monday.
"The toxicology report of the sample of the viscera - internal organs of the body, for example, heart liver and intestines - has revealed that death has been caused due to poisoning. Whether Sunanda took the poison herself to commit suicide or somebody poisoned her to death is a matter of police investigation," said a source. He refused to disclose any details about the nature of the poison.
The source, who is conversant with the findings, ruled out any possibility of accidental death due to overdose of prescription medicines - a possibility suggested by some doctors since Sunanda was on anti-depressants and several other medicines.
Sunanda Pushkar, wife of union of Minister Shashi Tharoor, was found dead in suite 345 of Leela hotel on Friday evening. Her body was reportedly found by Tharoor at around 8 pm when he returned to the hotel after attending a meeting of the All India Congress Committee (AICC).
The post-mortem report showed that Sunanda's death occurred at around 4-7 pm and by the time her body reached AIIMS - at around 2 am on Saturday - it had turned completely stiff. A medical board of forensic experts from AIIMS conducted the post-mortem, which was filmed and photographed. The post-mortem report states there were physical injuries in 'certain body parts'.
As for the injuries on her body, a doctor had said, "In medico-legal cases, the number of injuries does not matter. Whether the injuries are related with fatality or not, is what matters. So, before giving a medical opinion we need corroborate it with circumstantial evidence."
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