Sunanda Pushkar Tharoor’s autopsy underway at Delhi’s AIIMS hospital

New Delhi – The autopsy of Sunanda Pushkar Tharoor, the wife of union minister Shashi Tharoor, is being conducted by a three-doctor panel at Delhi’s AIIMS hospital. The post-mortem examination is being photographed and filmed, a spokesperson of AIIMS has said.

Mrs Tharoor, 52, was found dead in the posh Leela Hotel last night, days after she alleged that her husband was having an affair with a Pakistani journalist, who she targeted in a series of angry tweets. Her cremation will take place at 5:30 this evening.

Mr Tharoor, 57, complained of chest pains this morning and was admitted to the same hospital where his wife’s body was moved for a post-mortem. The junior minister for Human Resources Development was released a little before noon. His statement was recorded by the Delhi Police very late last night.

The autopsy will determine the cause of Mrs Tharoor’s death. Her iPad and iPhone have been picked up by the police from the hotel suite where she was staying.  CCTV footage from the hotel is being examined by the police, which is also questioning hotel staff.

Yesterday, Mr Tharoor attended a mega-conference of his Congress party.  When he returned to the Leela Hotel, at about 8.30 pm, his wife did not respond to requests to open the bedroom door.  The minister accessed her room with help from the hotel staff and found his wife lying dead on the bed.

His assistant told that the couple had checked into the Leela Hotel on Thursday because their house was being painted. However, Mrs Tharoor had told NDTV on Wednesday evening that she had moved into the hotel alone and that she was “heart-broken” because she had discovered a series of text messages that proved an alleged affair between her husband and Pakistani reporter Mehr Tarar.

But on Thursday, the Tharoors issued a joint statement in which they said they “are happily married and intend to stay that way.”