In a shocking twist to the raging row between Indian minister Shashi Tharoor and his wife Sunanda Pushkar, the socialite’s body was found in a Delhi hotel room on Friday night.
The police suspect it to be a case of suicide.
According to sources, Tharoor – who was at the All India Congress Committee meet in Delhi and was tweeting through the day – was informed by the staff at Hotel Leela Palace that his wife’s body had been found in their room number 345 at night. The minister then reportedly informed the police about it.
Hours earlier, Tharoor had tweeted that he was cancelling plans to attend the Jaipur literary festival as his wife was not well. Sunanda herself had sent a tweet earlier on Friday.
Tharoor and his wife have been involved in an unseemly controversy over the past few days, but on Thursday the couple issued a joint statement noting: “We wish to stress that we are happily married and intend to remain that way. Sunanda has been ill and hospitalised this week and is seeking to rest. We would be grateful if the media respects our privacy.”
The stormy Sunanda has been involved in several controversies of late. Earlier this week, she barged into a room where a Khaleej Times journalist was interviewing Tharoor in Dubai. “You really need to stop this,” she screamed and then went on to launch a tirade against the media.
About two days back she told some Indian newspapers that she suspected her husband was having an affair with a Pakistani journalist, who was ‘stalking’ him. Tharoor, known for his controversial tweets in the past, said his Twitter account had been hacked along with that of his wife. But Sunanda maintained it was she who had tweeted about her husband’s affairs.
