Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Subramanian Swamy on Tuesday termed the case of Sunanda Pushkar as a 'murder involving money', adding that he was happy that the police had finally registered an FIR in regard to her death.
"I am happy that the police have finally developed the nerve to register an FIR. This was a murder of involving money," Swamy told the media.
"The only crime Sunanda committed was that she wanted to tell the truth. Even the hotel where the incident took place has to be investigated. I want to establish a principle, no matter who it is. There is a right to life. No one can deprive it," he added.
Earlier in the day, the Delhi Police had stated that a case has been registered in regard to the death of Sunanda Pushkar, adding that medical reports have indicated that her demise was due to poisoning.
"The medical board gave us its report which stated that the death was unnatural and was due to poisoning. The report also speculated that the poison could have been administered orally or it could also have been injected," Delhi Police Commissioner BS Bassi told the media.
"Unfortunately, the quantification of poisons cannot be done in India, so we will be sending the samples abroad. In order to do so, we had to register a case; thus we have done the needful. We have registered an FIR under IPC Section 302," he added.
However, Bassi denied allegations of deliberate delays in the case, despite the FIR being registered almost a year after Sunanda Pushkar's death.
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"This case was looked into by the sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) and then the doctor had given a report which was interim in nature. Then certain information was sought by the doctor, which information was given to the medical board. The medical board examined that information and thereafter they sought some further clarifications," he said.
"Information was gathered and information was submitted. Now, a final report has been given which says that the death was not natural, death was due to poisoning," he added.
Sunanda Pushkar, who married Shashi Tharoor in 2010, had checked into The Leela Hotel in Chanakyapuri a day before her death on January 17, 2014.
Tharoor's aides said the couple had checked into the luxury hotel because of renovation work at his Delhi bungalow.
Prior to her death, Sunanda was embroiled in a spat with Pakistan-based journalist, Mehr Tarar, whom she accused of stalking her husband Shashi Tharoor.