Probe team member may go to US to collect Sunanda’s viscera samples

A member of the special investigation team (SIT) probing the mysterious murder of Congress leader Shashi Tharoor’s wife Sunanda Pushkar, may visit the US to collect her viscera samples from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). A DCP-level officer may go there by the end of August.

A member of the special investigation team (SIT) probing the mysterious murder of Congress leader Shashi Tharoor’s wife Sunanda Pushkar, may visit the US to collect her viscera samples from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). A DCP-level officer may go there by the end of August.

Sunanda Pushkar and Shashi Tharoor. (Hindustan Times)

Sources said they decided to collect the samples on the union home ministry’s directions. The samples have been lying at the FBI’s forensic lab for almost a year.

They said the home ministry, which was in touch with the FBI, recently asked Delhi Police to send a team to the US, and finish the job at the earliest. Senior Delhi Police officers associated with the Sunanda murder probe were tight-lipped over the matter.

The SIT received the FBI’s report on the viscera samples in October last year. The report said the radiation levels in the samples were “within the standard safety norms”.

Since investigators could not ascertain the cause of Sunanda’s death from the report, they requested an AIIMS board to analyse it. The board’s findings are awaited.

The SIT has also asked the forensic labs that are examining Sunanda’s mobile phones and laptops in India to submit their reports.

Read: Conspiracy theories abound: A timeline of Sunanda Pushkar murder case

On January 17, 2014, Sunanda was found dead in suite number 345 of Leela Palace Hotel in south Delhi where she had checked in with her husband.

A day before, Sunanda and Pakistani journalist Mehr Tarar had a spat on Twitter, with Pushkar accusing Tarar of having an affair with Tharoor. Pushkar’s suspicions also led to a row between the husband and wife. Tarar was questioned in the case during her visit to India in February.

Despite a murder case being registered last year, no development has taken place so far. As it stands, the commissioner of police, special CP (law and order), two joint CPs (southeastern range), two DCPs, two additional DCPs, the ACP of the special task forces, and the first investigating officer moved out in routine transfers.