 "Attempt to implicate me in Sunanda's death: Shashi Tharoor")
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor has said that a Delhi Police official had attempted to implicate him and a domestic help in the murder of his wife Sunanda Pushkar.
In a letter to Delhi Police Commissioner B.S. Bassi dated Nov 12 and accessed by the media on Wednesday, Tharoor urged the police chief to take action against the concerned officer.
Tharoor said that four Delhi Police officers interrogated his domestic help Narayan Singh last month - for 16 hours on Nov 7 and for 14 hours on Nov 8.
On both days, Tharoor alleged that Narayan Singh was "repeatedly physically assaulted by one of your officers.
"Worse, that officer used the traumatic physical assault to try and intimidate Narayan into 'confessing' that he and I murdered my wife," the former central minister said.
Tharoor recalled that he expressed his concerns to Bassi over telephone on Nov 8.
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"As you graciously agreed, such conduct is completely unacceptable and illegal," Tharoor said in his letter. "It also amounts to the use of physical coercion in the attempt to frame an innocent man.
"I would request you to take immediate and appropriate action against such unlawful misconduct of the officer concerned.
"My staff and I have always made ourselves available for any kind of inquiry and investigation but the recent behaviour of the officers towards my staff is a matter of serious concern to any law abiding citizen.
"Please look into the matter personally and ensure that the unvarnished truth comes out in this case."
Tharoor said he had "complete trust and faith" in Delhi Police and that he was committed to "fully cooperating with the investigations to ensure the timely completion of the inquiry".
The letter became public knowledge a day after Delhi Police announced that Pushkar, found dead in a hotel a year ago, was poisoned to death.
Bassi said Tuesday that this was the conclusion of the final medical report of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, which had conducted Pushkar's autopsy.
Pushkar, 52, died in mysterious circumstances Jan 17 last year. Tharoor was then a minister in the government of then prime minister Manmohan Singh.