Delhi hotel suite where Sunanda Pushkar was found dead de-sealed after 3 years

Hotel Leela Palace claimed that due to the sealing of the suite, which costs ₹55,000-₹61,000 a night, it had suffered a loss of ₹50 lakh in the last 3 years

The five-star hotel suite where Congress leader Shashi Tharoor’s wife Sunanda Pushkar was found dead in 2014 has been de-sealed, Delhi Police informed a city court on Monday.

Sunanda Pushkar, the wife of Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, was found dead in the hotel room on January 17,2014. (HT File Photo)

Police told the court that possession of Hotel Leela Palace’s suite number 345, which has been locked since January 17, 2014, has been handed over to hotel authorities.

The court then disposed the plea filed by the hotel.

The hotel management had approached the court with a plea that the suite be de-sealed.

In its plea, the hotel claimed that due to the sealing of the suite, which costs between ₹55,000 and ₹61,000 a night, it had suffered a loss of over ₹50 lakh in the last three years. It had also said that the locked suite has become a home for bugs and insects.

On July 21, the court had ordered de-sealing of the suite within four weeks, saying the hotel cannot be put to unending hardship due to laxity on part of police. Police had, at the time, sought more time to complete the probe.

Later, the court had on September 4 taken the police to task for its “lethargic attitude” in its probe into the case. On September 12, the police was again directed to de-seal the suite.

On October 10, the court had granted six days to Delhi Police to comply with its earlier order to hand the suite back to the hotel.

Pushkar was found dead in the suite of the south Delhi hotel on the night of January 17, 2014. The suite has been sealed on the night of her death, which has been the cause of immense controversy, for investigation.