Sunanda Pushkar was worth more than Rs 110 crore

Whether it is antique shahtoosh shawls, Humayuni sword or two dozen foreign watches worth Rs 5 crore, Sunanda Pushkar, the wife of Union Minister Shashi Tharoor, who died under mysterious circumstances four days ago, was a woman of taste and a sneak preview into a list of her belongings shows this.

Pushkar had assets worth over Rs 110 crore, which include 12 flats in Dubai, in January 2013, while Tharoor had declared around Rs 9-crore assets in his name. These details are part of the annual declaration Tharoor submitted to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in January last year as part of the requirement.

According to the document uploaded in the prime minister’s website, she owns 12 apartments, valued at Rs 93 crore, in Dubai. Some of the flats were in various stages of completion, some were rented and one where her son resided. She also owns a house in Canada’s Ontario, which is valued at Rs 3.5 crore.

Pushkar, who “occasionally practised as a real estate consultant in the UAE” as per the document, also owned land worth Rs 12 lakh in Jammu and Kashmir. She appeared to be a prudent investor as she had Rs 7 crore in cash and deposits in banks, financial institutions and non-banking financial companies and shares in companies.

She had a car in Dubai purchased in 2009 for Rs 9 lakh and owned a car worth Rs 5 lakh here, purchased by Tharoor “as a gift” in 2010 and registered in Haryana in her name.

Most of her jewellery worth around Rs 2 crore was in lockers in Dubai. “I also own a collection of 25 foreign watches worth approximately Rs 5 crore,” she said in the declaration. However, Tharoor has declared that he has “one gold chain, two gold rings, and 10 sets of cuff links, worth approximately Rs 10 lakh. I have three foreign watches worth approximately Rs 22 lakh.”

On antiques, she said: “I have inherited a collection of antique shahtoosh shawls from my grandmother and mother, worth about Rs 30 lakh. I also possess (in storage in Canada) an antique suit of armour and a Humayuni sword from the era of Emperor Humayun, current value unknown.”

Pushkar said she had no business interests other than the shares mentioned and not involved in the conduct or management of any business. “I occasionally practice as a real estate consultant in the UAE, which remains my place of domicile,” she added.