Former Indian diplomat Shashi Tharoor charged with abetting suicide of late wife

Congress leader denies all charges and intends to fight them in court

Police in the Indian capital of New Delhi have filed a chargesheet against Indian National Congress leader Shashi Tharoor as an accused in a case relating to the death of his wife Sunanda Pushkar, who died in Leela Hotel four years ago, reported The Times of India.

According to the Indian publication, the charges were filed before the metropolitan magistrate. Reports suggested that Delhi police have concluded that the death was a case of suicide.

The former Indian diplomat called the charges against him preposterous and stated that he intended to contest all of them, in a post on the social media.

1/2 I have taken note of the filing of this preposterous charge sheet &intend to contest it vigorously. No one who knew Sunanda believes she would ever have committed suicide, let alone abetment on my part. If this is conclusion arrived at after 4+ yrs of investigation, (contd.)

— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) May 14, 2018

2/2) it does not speak well of the methods or motivations of the Delhi Police. In oct 17, the Law Officer made a statement in the DelhiHighCourt that they have not found anything against anyone & now in 6 months they say that I have abetted a suicide. unbelievable!

— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) May 14, 2018

The Times of India reported that police have charged Tharoor with abetting suicide and cruelty to his wife under section 306 and 498A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Pushkar was found dead in suite number 345 of Leela hotel in south Delhi on January 17, 2014. The suite was sealed that night itself for investigation and de-sealed last month. An FIR under IPC Section 302 (murder) was registered on January 1, 2015 against unknown persons.

In April, the special investigation team (SIT) probing the case told the Supreme Court of India that a draft report had been prepared after conducting "thorough professional and scientific investigations" and would be submitted in the concerned trial court after "legal scrutiny".



The apex court had ordered an SIT probe following a petition by BJP leader Subramaian Swamy alleging that Delhi police was not conducting a proper investigation in the case and the FIR was filed almost one year after the incident.

Prior to this, Swamy had appealed to the Delhi High Court but his petition was summarily dismissed as a "textbook example of political interest litigation".

This article originally appeared in The Times of India