ED to probe IPL angle in Sunanda murder

Earlier, Delhi Police Economic Offences Wing (EOW) was investigating the financial irregularities, specifically the shareholding pattern, pertaining to Kochi Tuskers, now-defunct IPL team. Pushkar had stakes in this team.

Just hours before her murder in January 2014, Sunanda in her conversation with journalist Nalini Singh and politician Amar Singh, had alleged to expose “the IPL connection” at a press conference. The very next day she was found dead in a five star hotel in Chanakyapuri.

In 2010, Sunanda got media attention after she had been given sweat equity worth Rs 70 crore in Rendezvous Sports World, a part of the consortium that won the bid for the IPL cricket team – Kochi Tuskers Kerala. Just 18 days after the IPL bid, Sunanda was made a director of the company on 25 February 2010.

However she had to give up the equity later as it caused a furore after ex-IPL chief Lalit Modi tweeted the ownership pattern. Sunanda — who was not married to Shashi Tharoor then — had been offered this equity in lieu of the funds she had arranged for the team, sources said. Following the revelation Tharoor had to resign from his ministerial position. The BCCI subsequently terminated the contract of Kochi Tuskers.

In February 2015, during the ongoing investigation, Tharoor was interrogated by the Special Investigation Team and the EOW whether Pushkar was acting on his behalf when she received equity. 

Tharoor was also quizzed about the alleged Dubai connection that surfaced during the IPL controversy in 2010.

Sunanda was found dead in a hotel suite on January 17, 2014, days after she publicly accused her husband of having an affair.