Shashi Tharoor charged with abetting Sunanda Pushkar’s suicide

Delhi Police on Monday filed charges in the death of Sunanda Pushkar and named her widower Shashi Tharoor, a Congress MP, as one of the accused.

The charges were filed in the court of Metropolitan Magistrate Dharmender Singh under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections of husband or his relative subjecting a woman to cruelty and abetment of suicide.

Pushkar was found dead in a luxury hotel room in New Delhi on January 17, 2014.

Charge sheet “preposterous”, says Tharoor

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor termed the Delhi Police charge sheet accusing him of abetting the suicide of his wife Sunanda Pushkar "preposterous" and said he intends to contest it "vigorously".Tharoor is the only person who has been named as an accused in the case.

The police in its charge sheet, which runs into around 3,000 pages, has also alleged that Tharoor had subjected his wife to cruelty."I have taken note of the filing of this preposterous charge sheet &intend to contest it vigorously. No one who knew Sunanda believes she would ever have committed suicide, let alone abetment on my part," he tweeted."It does not speak well of the methods or motivations of the Delhi Police.

On October 17, the Law Officer made a statement in the Delhi High Court that they have not found anything against anyone & now in 6 months they say that I have abetted a suicide. unbelievable!," Tharoor added.

The police filed the charge sheet in the case before Metropolitan Magistrate Dharmendra Singh, who will consider it on May 24.It also urged the court to summon Tharoor as an accused. Pushkar was found dead in a luxury hotel room here on the night of January 17, 2014.

(with inputs from IANS and PTI).