Union minister Shashi Tharoor's wife Sunanda Pushkar, who was found dead in a hotel in New Delhi on Friday, was seriously ill, according to a former diplomat and close friend of the minister.
TP Sreenivasan, who hails from the state capital and has been a diplomat for more than three decades, told reporters in Thiruvananthapuram that Tharoor had informed him of his wife's illness.
"She had undergone treatment in France recently and after check-ups it was found that she had some serious health issues and he was a worried man. I pacified him after hearing it," said Sreenivasan.
Reports said the couple had visited a leading private hospital recently and certain tests were conducted on Pushkar.
Sources said she was identified with suspected systemic lupus erythematosus (connective tissue disorder) and this is a disease which has no definite treatment.
She had also undergone colonoscopy.
A doctor at the same hospital said he saw the couple quarrelling playfully.
Reports also said Pushkar had an appointment at the hospital January 20.
{{/usCountry}}Reports also said Pushkar had an appointment at the hospital January 20.
{{/usCountry}}The couple was married at Tharoor's 200-year-old ancestral home in Palakkad in August 2010.