Tharoor questioned, can be summoned again, says Bassi

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor has once again been questioned in connection with his wife Sunanda Pushkar’s death and the special investigation team probing the high-profile case may summon him again, Delhi Police Commissioner BS Bassi said on Sunday.

“I must say that I am sure that we are on the right track and the Special Investigation Team (SIT) is doing a great job,” Bassi said, adding that a number of reasons were responsible for the “slow” progress in the case.

Tharoor, a Lok Sabha MP from Thiruvanathapuram, was questioned for nearly five hours by the SIT at the Anti-Auto Theft Squad office in the Vasant Vihar police station on Satuday, a source said. He was subjected to three rounds of questioning around one year ago.

On Tharoor’s questioning, Bassi said, “Whatever clarifications were required to be obtained from Shashi Tharoor, those perhaps have been obtained.” 

“If the SIT thinks further clarification is required, it may summon Tharoor again,” he said, adding that the police were trying to take the case to a logical conclusion as early as possible.

The latest round of questioning was in light of the findings of the AIIMS medical board’s opinion on the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) report on Sunanda’s viscera and other crucial evidence, which were sent to their laboratory in the US, a police source said.

He said the questions revolved around the source of Alprax, the drug found in Sunanda’s stomach, and Lodicaine, which is believed to have contributed to poisoning leading to her death. However, Tharoor has so far maintained that there is no foul play in Sunanda’s death.

Meanwhile, the SIT has written to the AIIMS medical board, seeking clarification on a few points in their findings. The board is expected to respond by Friday, the source added.

Sunanda was found dead at a five-star hotel room in south Delhi on January 17, 2014.