Sunanda Pushkar report: Tharoor breaks silence on AIIMS doctor's claims

Breaking his silence on the controversy surrounding the death of his wife Sunanda Pushkar, former Union minister and Congress MP Shashi Tharoor today said he has always maintained that a full probe be carried out by investigative agencies and that he had cooperated with the police at all times. [caption id=“attachment_1599641” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Congress MP Shashi Tharoor and his late wife Sunanda Pushkar. PTI[/caption] “Upon the tragic loss of my wife Sunanda and from the very beginning, I have requested for a thorough investigation by the authorities to be conducted and concluded rapidly and transparently. The Pushkar family has taken the same view and we have all fully co-operated with the authorities. I reiterate my request to bring this protracted inquiry to a clear and definitive conclusion at the earliest, so as to put all speculation to rest,” the minister said, in a statement released to the media and available on his Facebook page. Meanwhile, All India Institute of Medical Sciences has also denied the claims of its forensic head Dr Sudhir Gupta that he had to fabricate the autopsy report of former Minister Shashi Tharoor’s wife Sunanda Pushkar due to pressure from UPA ministers. Dr Gupta, who headed the team of forensic experts that conducted the postmortem of Pushkar, said that there is a malafide agenda to oust him from his position for taking a “professional position which went against vested interests.” “I was under pressure not to speak on autopsy details without discussing with top quarters of government. As a medical practitioner, I thought it is unfair to change my view on any autopsy. I gave correct statement to media after autopsy and was not biased. I gave representation to the minister to save myself from departmental politics,” he said. Gupta, in his affidavit to before the Central Administrative Tribunal, claimed that he was illegally punished for refusing to act un-professionally in the autopsy matter. He has also claimed that Tharoor had sought a tailor-made autopsy report from the AIIMS director. Meanwhile, Union health minister Dr Harsh Vardhan has asked AIIMS to provide a detailed report on allegations raised by Dr Gupta.