Autopsy report on Indian minister’s wife given to magistrate

Doctors yesterday submitted to a magistrate the preliminary findings of their autopsy report into the mysterious death of the wife of an Indian federal minister in a

hotel last Friday.

While officials declined to reveal details, NDTV news channel claimed a three- member autopsy team found traces of Alprazolam, an anti-depressant drug, in Sunanda Pushkar, wife of junior human resource minister Shashi Tharoor.

This indicated she probably died of an overdose of either some strong medicine or sedative, the channel claimed.

Investigations will now centre on confirming whether the alleged drug overdose was accidental or deliberate, it added.

Meanwhile, Mr Tharoor, a high-profile 57-year-old former UN diplomat, recorded his statement over the weekend before a magistrate investigating Ms Pushkar's death.

Officials said that in his hour-long deposition on Sunday, Mr Tharoor gave an account of events prior to the death of his 52-year-old wife.

Ms Pushkar was found dead in a Delhi hotel suite on Friday evening, two days after going public on Twitter about a Pakistani journalist "stalking" her husband and allegedly having an affair with him.

'Conspiracy'

She accused Mehr Tarar of trying to "break" her marriage when she was

undergoing medical treatment.

Ms Tarar, a 45-year-old divorcee and mother of a 13-year-old boy, has denied these allegations.

She said she was the “victim of a conspiracy”.

“A Pakistani woman sitting here [in Lahore] cannot spoil their marriage,” she told Pakistan’s Geo Tez television channel at the weekend.

Investigating magistrate Alok Sharma asked Mr Tharoor about the rows he reportedly had with Ms Pushkar before her death and his relationship with Ms Tarar.

Official sources said Mr Tharoor reportedly acknowledged knowing Ms Tarar, but declined to specify the nature of their friendship.

The magistrate also questioned eight other people, including Ms Pushkar’s brother and 21-year-old son, Ms Tharoor’s assistant and his two domestic servants.

Under Indian law, a magistrate has to inquire into any case where the wife dies within seven years of marriage.