Cops dismiss foreign angle probe in Sunanda case

New Delhi: Delhi Police dubbed on Tuesday as "work of fiction" speculation about their probing any foreign angle in the mysterious death of former Union minister Shashi Tharoor's wife Sunanda Pushkar.

There have been media reports in the last couple of days that the police are probing a foreign angle in this case.

"These are all speculations, work of fiction," said a senior police official when asked about the media reports.

Delhi Police commissioner BS Bassi had last Friday said that one should not go by media reports and only believe what is being said officially.

The police commissioner has also said that the inquest proceedings are on and they have not reached any conclusion in the case.

"We don't reveal anything about a case unless we have reached a conclusion in it. Investigation details are not shared on a daily basis. Some people are needlessly sensationalising it," he added.

Delhi Police have recently begun the investigation once again from scratch and several people, including the staff of the five-star hotel where Sunanda was found dead, and the personal staff of Tharoor, who was then a Union minister, have been quizzed in recent days.

Sources had recently indicated that police were considering sending the viscera samples to forensic laboratories abroad to determine the type of poison that is suspected to have caused Sunanda's death.

The AIIMS medical board had, in its second report submitted to police, confirmed poisoning as the reason for her death but did not mention the type of poison.

As of now, the police have asked the AIIMS panel of doctors to redo their investigation and name the poison which caused Sunanda's death but if it fails to do so, the samples will then be sent abroad.

The three mobile phones and a laptop of Sunanda have already been sent for forensic investigations to check whether anything was deleted from the gadgets post her death.

Recently, police had also re-examined suite number 345 of Leela Palace Hotel where she was found dead in a suite in January.

Police had also called upon the AIIMS doctors and experts from FSL to inspect the room during which fluid marks were found on Sunanda's bed sheet and the carpet along with a broken glass in the room. These articles have also been sent for forensic examination.