The revelation about another mystery woman being the root cause of the running tiff between Sunanda Pushkar and Shashi Tharoor, the then Minister in the Manmohan Singh Government, has added a new twist to the case.
This revelation was made by Narayan Singh, the domestic help of Tharoor. Narayan Singh had told Delhi Police officers that Tharoor and his wife Sunanda Pushkar had been fighting over a woman named Katy, days before her death. Sunanda Pushkar was found dead, days after a bitter Twitter spat over Tharoor’s alleged affair with Pakistani journalist Mehr Tarar.
Meanwhile in a related and significant development, the officers of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) questioned one Sunil Trakru, a family friend of the couple, who had met Pushkar on January 15, two days before her death. It has been learnt that it was Trakru who had received Pushkar at the airport on January 15 after she returned from Kerala and had brought her to the hotel. He had met both Tharoor and Sunanda in the hotel the next day.
“Singh has told investigators about a woman identified as Katy over whom the couple used to have frequent fights after they had returned from Dubai. Usually after such fights, Pushkar used to go to a family friend’s place, who has been identified as one Sanjay by Singh. He has also mentioned about Sunil Trakru,” said a senior police official associated with the probe.
Trakru has told police that Pushkar was frail and weak when he last met her. Tharoor’s aide Narayan has also disclosed that Pushkar wanted to do a Press conference over something before her death. It has also emerged that she has mentioned something about IPl to her close friends.
Meanwhile, the SIT probing the case on Friday reached Hotel leela Palace where Pushkar was found dead on January 17 last year.According to sources, the SIT on Friday visited Hotel leela Palace and spent around two hours there. It questioned the staff and also checked the hotel room once again. Staff was specifically asked about whether anyone had seen or recovered any syringe or an injection vial from the room.
The question was made as the medical report had mentioned about ‘injury no. 10’, an injection mark through which they poison could have been administered.Police has also formed a list of at least 12 people, including Abhinav Kumar, who was then PS to Tharoor, the then Minister of State of HRD. It was Kumar, who had made a phone call to Inspector Atul Sood, the then SHO of Sarojini Nagar from Abhinav Kumar, PS to Tharoor, the then Minister of State of HRD that Sunanda had done something in Suite No. 345, Hotel leela Palace, New Delhi.
Sources said that Kumar would be asked by police as to why the SHO was informed on his personal mobile number and not a PCR call was made. A similar question is also supposed to be put up to the hotel management by police.Police is also planning to question Mehr Tarar in this regard and a questionnaire is being prepared, which will be sent to her via email and replies will be sought. She has already said publicly that she is ready to answer all questions in this connection.
Other than this, police will also question Bajrangi, Tharoor’s driver and a female journalist with whom Pushkar apparently spoke to before her death and all those who came in close contact with her in the last 48 hours before her death.Police will also question Sanjay Dewan (not the Sanjay whom Pushkar visited after fights with Tharoor), the couple’s family friend who was there at the hotel suite on that night when Pushkar was found dead and had called the hotel doctor who had pronounced her dead.
“Tharoor had returned to the hotel suite after the AICC meeting and had a cup of tea. When he went to check on Pushkar inside the bedroom, he found her motionless. It was after this Dewan called the hotel doctor who declared her dead following which Abhinav Kumar informed SHO Sarojini Nagar,” said a senior police official.Meanwhile, Delhi Police top brass has asked the members of SIT not to use mobile phones during investigation, especially during interrogation.