Sunanda death not natural, asserts Bassi

Sunanda Pushkar was found dead on January 17, 2014 in her hotel room in the heart of New Delhi.

The medical board of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) on Friday submitted its 43- page ‘observation’ report on the United States’ FBI lab report on Sunanda’s viscera samples. Sources claimed that the AIIMS medical board has identified the poison with the help of the FBI report.

In what is a major setback for Pushkar’s celebrity husband Tharoor, sources in Delhi Police claimed that the report clearly established that she was poisoned. The chemical substance which may have caused her death has been identified in the final report submitted by the panel to Delhi Police. Bassi, however, refused to disclose the name of the poison. Following the fresh development, Tharoor could again be called for questioning.

Apart from Radioactive substances, some more chemicals (poisonous in nature) were found in Sunanda’s viscera samples. However, mere presence of Polonium-210 or Po-210, the radioactive substances could not be the sole reason for her death, sources privy to the AIIMS report said.

The FBI sent the report to the Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by Prem Nath, Deputy Commissioner of Police (South) in November last year. When the SIT failed to draw any conclusion on the FBI report, it was handed over to the AIIMS medical board for it’s observations.

“As far as evidences are concerned until now, Sunanda Pushkar’s death was unnatural. I can say this with certainty,” Bassi told media persons. 

Following the receipt of the observation report (11- page report along with a 32-page annexure), the SIT now has its task cut out – to find how the poisonous substance entered Sunanda’s body. It is worth mentioning that the post-mortem examination had found puncture marks (injection marks) on her body. Sunanda’s body had 15 injuries, including a tooth bite, inflicted in a time-frame of 12 hours before her death.

Sunanda was found dead in suite no. 345 of the Leela Palace in New Delhi on January 17, 2014. The police had filed an FIR under section 302 (murder) of IPC after medical and forensic reports indicated she was poisoned. Investigators have so far conducted polygraph tests on six persons, all prime witnesses in the case, including Tharoor’s domestic help Narayan Singh, driver Bajrangi and a close friend of the couple Sanjay Dewan. Tharoor has also been questioned in the case.