Interrogated for the first time by the Delhi police after more than a year of his wife Sunanda Pushkar's death under suspicious circumstances at a Delhi hotel, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor admitted to 'marital trouble' with her.
It is said that the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Delhi police posed a specific question as to whether he and Sunanda Pushkar had physical fights and whether he ever hit her, referring to the injury marks found on her body.
"There were 15 injuries on her body. Did you and Mrs Sunanda Pushkar Tharoor have physical fights and do you have the knowledge of the injuries found on her body? Did you hit her?" the SIT asked, according to a report in the The Times of India that claimed to have accessed some of the questions.
To this,Tharoor reportedly replied saying there were differences between the two and they did fight but he never hit her.
Other questions that the SIT asked revolved around the day Sunanda Pushkar was found dead in New Delhi's Leela Palace hotel, the days following it and the evidences – Alprax strips and broken glass pieces – found from the hotel room.
"Why wasn't she rushed to the hospital immediately after being found unresponsive? Why did no one dial 100 or call an ambulance?" the officer asked him.
"We want to know why did you say or got it conveyed that she had Lupus when medical examination proved negative? Why did those doctors say so in the email," Additional DCP Kushwah reportedly asked.
The SIT posed over 50 questions to him during the interrogation that began around 8 pm on Monday and lasted for four hours, according to NDTV. There could be two more rounds of interrogation, even as early as Tuesday, after analysing his answers.
The SIT questioned Tharoor, who is also a Lok Sabha MP from Kerala, at an isolated building in C block of Vasant Vihar police station.
Briefing reporters on Tuesday, Delhi Police chief BS Bassi said, "We spoke to Shashi Tharoor about the background, what happened on that day and certain things said in the media."
The police also said that Tharoor has been questioned as a witness not a suspect. "We are examining it with an open mind," said Bassi.
Tharoor was questioned about his alleged extra-marital affairs with Pakistani journalist Mehr Tarar. The SIT asked why Pushar left him at the airport and checked in at the hotel.
"Mr. Tharoor was also questioned about their fight on the flight and whether this was the reason why Ms. Pushkar left him at the airport on their return from Thiruvananthpuram to Delhi on January 15 and checked in at Leela Palace," according to The Hindu source.
Bassi also said that Shashi Tharoor would be questioned on his and his wife's Indian Premier League (IPL) links."Questions related to IPL are relevant, and whatever is relevant will be asked," he said.
The IPL controversy pertains to corruption charges against the couple involving a Kochi IPL team in which Sunanda was allegedly given stakes (sweat equity) worth about ₹ 70 crore. She had to surrender it later after the controversy.
Tharoor was forced to quit in 2010 from the government after the IPL corruption charges surfaced.
