Cops to get Sunanda Pushkar's viscera report from FBI next month

Delhi Police are expecting to receive the report of Sunanda Pushkar’s viscera samples next month. The samples were sent to a forensic laboratory of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in the United States in February.

Police said the report is likely to throw light on the ‘poison’ that caused Sunanda’s death as concluded by AIIMS.

“We hope both the viscera report and polygraph tests on six of Tharoor’s close associates will give a direction to the probe in the high-profile case,” said a police officer.

In February, Deputy Commissioner of Police (South) Prem Nath had personally handed over the viscera samples to the concerned FBI officials in the US. This is the first time that Delhi Police have sent viscera sample abroad for forensic examination.

Sources said the special investigation team has sought a final opinion on the nature of poison and its quantum which claimed Sunanda’s life on January 17 last year at south Delhi’s Leela Palace Hotel. “Further course of action in the case will be taken as per FBI’s opinion on her viscera samples,” the officer added.

In January, police had registered a case of murder nearly a year after the death of Congress leader Shashi Tharoor’s wife Sunanda. Police said Sunanda was poisoned resulting in her unnatural death and that the poison was either administered to her orally or injected in her body.

Police have relied on medical and forensic reports while registering a case under section 302 of the Indian Penal Code against unidentified persons with Sarojini Nagar police station.

A special team led by DCP (South) Prem Nath and Additional DCP (South) P S Kushwah is investigating the case. Till January, Sunanda’s death was being investigated under sections of the Code of Criminal Procedure for unnatural death.

Earlier this month, polygraph tests were conducted on Tharoor’s domestic helps Narayan Singh and Bajrangi, and family friends Sanjay Dewan, S K Sharma, Vikas Ahlawat and Sunil Takru.

It was conducted in the presence of their lawyers, who had earlier sought police to follow proper guidelines issued by the Supreme Court and the National Human Rights Commission.