Over the next few days, the Delhi Police may approach a local court here to obtain a letter rogatory (letter of request) to send viscera samples of Sunanda Pushkar abroad.
Announcing on Tuesday that they would now probe the mysterious death of Ms. Pushkar — the wife of former Union Minister Shashi Tharoor — as murder, the Delhi Police said to ascertain the nature and quantity of poison in the body, the samples have to be tested in laboratories outside the country.
“The medical board’s findings that the death was unnatural and due to poisoning, which could have been from radioactive chemicals, means that Indian laboratories would not be able to detect them. The registration of the case was imperative in sending the samples. Once the letter rogatory is obtained, we will have legal sanctity to go ahead,” said a Delhi Police source.
These samples would fly to laboratories in either the United States or the United Kingdom to be tested once the letter rogatory comes and further clearance from the Lieutenant-Governor is obtained, added the source.
Delhi Police Commissioner said the poison could have been injected into Ms. Pushkar’s body and the injection mark, one of the 12 injuries, was at a part where the possibility of it being self inflicted was remote.
The FIR against unknown persons was registered on Sunday.
A Special Team under DCP (South) Prem Nath, which has been formed to investigate the murder, will now re-examine the witnesses. They were earlier examined by a sub-divisional magistrate and the police, while the inquest was on.
Of those who can feature in this list include Shashi Tharoor, Ms. Pushkar’s son and the couple’s personal staff along with the employees of The Leela Palace where she was found dead.
