Sunanda murder: Shashi Tharoor expresses shock; BJP, Left demand his resignation

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said Tuesday that he was stunned to know that his wife Sunanda Pushkar was poisoned and that a murder case had now been filed.

"Needless to say I am anxious to see that this case is investigated thoroughly, and (I) assure the police my full cooperation," Tharoor said in a statement here.  

"Although we never thought of any foul play in the death of my wife, we all want that a comprehensive investigation be conducted and the unvarnished truth should come out," he said.

He added that he and all members of Pushkar's family wanted access to all the information on the basis of which Delhi Police had concluded that she was poisoned to death.

"We have not been provided copies of the post-mortem report and other reports of the inquiry like the CFSL report till date. We repeat our request for a copy of these reports to be provided to us immediately," said Tharoor.

Meanwhile, the Left and the BJP in Kerala asked Congress MP Shashi Tharoor to resign from the Lok Sabha after Delhi Police confirmed that his wife was murdered.

Former chief minister V.S. Achuthanandan said the Congress should publicly apologise for "protecting" Tharoor when he was a minister in the Congress-led central government.

"Now with a murder case registered, Tharoor should resign and make himself available for the probe," the Communist Party of India-Marxist leader said in a statement.

State Bharatiya Janata Party president V. Muraleedharan asked Tharoor to resign from the Lok Sabha.

"The Congress should apologise to the people for fielding him (in the Lok Sabha polls)," said Muraleedharan.

Chief Minister Oommen Chandy declined to comment on the case. Tharoor retained the Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha seat with his margin of victory dropping from close to a lakh in 2009 to around 15,000 votes.

BJP veteran O. Rajagopal edged out the Left candidate to the third place.

Delhi Police chief B.S. Bassi said Tuesday that they had registered a murder case against "unknown persons" after the final medical report said Pushkar was poisoned and died an unnatural death.

Pushkar was found dead in mysterious circumstances in a luxury hotel in New Delhi in January last year. Sunanda murder case: Shashi Tharoor expresses shock; BJP, Left demand his resignation