Rajiv Gandhi assassination investigator ignites Tharoor's wife Sunanda Pushkar death controversy

New Delhi, Oct 23: Days after a fresh report by a team of doctors at All India Medical Institute of Science (AIIMS), the lead investigators of Rajiv Gandhi assassination case ignited the controversy over Shashi Tharoor's wife Sunanda Pushkar.

The lead investigator of the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi assassination case was Dr P Chandra Sekharan. He challenged the report submitted by the panel of doctors at AIIMS.

Dr Sekharan, a senior forensic expert, sent a letter to Union Health Minister and AIIMS President Dr Harsh Vardhan complaining about the clarity of the report.

In his letter to Harshvardhan, Sekharan asserted that Pushkar's death was nothing but an accident. She did not die due to poisoning as it was suggested by AIIMS doctor, he claimed.

In his letter, Dr Sekharan wrote, "I have examined the 14-page report and am astonished at what I have noticed. In suspected cases of poisoning, the role of the forensic medical expert is limited in the sense that he cannot come to a conclusion regarding the cause of death without the analytical report of (the) forensic toxicologist who identifies and quantifies the poison or its metabolities."

He also wrote, "In this case the toxicologist after analysing the viscera has found out the presence of ethyl alcohol (intoxicating chemical found in alcoholic beverages), caffeine, acetaminophen (contained in pain reliever drugs such as paracetamol) and cotinine (an alkaloid found in tobacco)."

"I am concerned about the damage done to AIIMS' reputation by such a shoddy report and urge you to take remedial action," Dr Sekharan added.

Dr Sekharan's challenge came after the fresh post mortem reports revealed that Pushkar had died of poisoning, thereby raising many eyebrows. Tharoor had then refused to comment on the whole issue.

OneIndia News