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Tharoor Questioned By Delhi Police Today

Tharoor Questioned By Delhi Police Today
NEW DELHI, INDIA - JANUARY 11: Congress Leader Shashi Tharoor arrives at T3 terminal of IGI Airport after returning from Kerala, on January 11, 2015 in New Delhi, India. Tharoor was undergoing treatment for spondylitis at an Ayurvedic clinic in Kerala. In his first statement to the police days after the death of Sunanda Pushkar, Shashi Tharoor admitted they had had a 'small misunderstanding' but that was 'cleared' and that their married life was 'very happy'. As the probe into the mysterious death of Sunanda Pushkar picks up momentum, Tharoor returned to the capital and asserted it was his duty to cooperate in the investigation. (Photo by Raj K Raj/Hindustan Times via Getty Images)
Hindustan Times via Getty Images
NEW DELHI, INDIA - JANUARY 11: Congress Leader Shashi Tharoor arrives at T3 terminal of IGI Airport after returning from Kerala, on January 11, 2015 in New Delhi, India. Tharoor was undergoing treatment for spondylitis at an Ayurvedic clinic in Kerala. In his first statement to the police days after the death of Sunanda Pushkar, Shashi Tharoor admitted they had had a 'small misunderstanding' but that was 'cleared' and that their married life was 'very happy'. As the probe into the mysterious death of Sunanda Pushkar picks up momentum, Tharoor returned to the capital and asserted it was his duty to cooperate in the investigation. (Photo by Raj K Raj/Hindustan Times via Getty Images)

Congress member of parliament Shashi Tharoor was questioned today by a special team of the Delhi Police investigating his wife's death a year ago.

Tharoor's wife, Sunanda Pushkar, was found dead in a Delhi hotel last January. After almost a year, the police finally said that it was a case of murder and not suicide as had earlier been reported.

Tharoor reached the Vasant Vihar police station in New Delhi at about 7.45 in the evening, and was still continuing two hours later. TV cameras showed footage of Tharoor being questioned in a room.

Tharoor had earlier criticised the way media channels were following and questioning him during public engagements. He had appealed to the investigating team to not act out of political pressure or pre-ordained outcomes.

Sunanda Pushkar was found dead on January 17, 2014 at the Leela Palace Hotel in Chanakyapuri, New Delhi. Tharoor, a former United Nations diplomat, was at the time the union human resources development minister in the UPA government and is currently a member of Parliament.

The incident generated a spate of controversy in India. A couple of days before her death, some personal tweets on Shashi Tharoor's timeline were presumably posted by Pushkar. The content of those tweets was messages sent to Tharoor from Pakistani journalist Mehr Tarar.

The police investigation has been covered in detail in the media, including details of witness testimonies to the police. That has included details of the couple's private conversations, arguments, and fights. Police have also questioned the crew of a flight from Thiruvananthapuram to Delhi in which Tharoor and his wife had allegedly fought on January 15 last year.

Yesterday, Information and Broadcasting minister Arun Jaitley said that the media should evolve ethics when covering high profile cases. "What was the relationship between a husband and wife, what was the kind of conversation they were having, these are areas which have absolutely no bearing on larger public interest and can only add some spice to the content of reporting," said Jaitley at the J.S. Verma Memorial lecture in New Delhi. He did not name Tharoor but the comment seemed to be a reference to news channels' coverage of Tharoor.

Earlier in January, Tharoor wrote to Commissioner B.S. Bassi in November, and accused the police investigators of assaulting his domestic help Narayan Singh to allegedly extract a "confession" that he and Tharoor murdered Sunanda. Singh is also one of the key witnesses in the case. Bassi denied the accusation.

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