Police may ask Tharoor to join probe; Sunanda's son rules out suicide

New Delhi: Police may ask Union minister Shashi Tharoor and others to join the "probe" into the mysterious death of his wife Sunanda Pushkar, a day after it was directed by a magistrate to investigate suicide and homicide angles in the high-profile case.

Investigators are "examining" the report by the Sub- Divisional Magistrate to chalk out future course of action in the case following the autopsy report mentioning "poisoning" as the cause of the "sudden and unnatural" death of 52-year- old Sunanda, sources said.

They said police may issue notices under 160 of CrPC (which entails witnesses to join probe) to Tharoor and 11 others including Sunanda's brothers and son asking them to join investigations.

Asked specifically if Tharoor will be questioned, the sources said police was looking into the circumstances and the factors which caused Sunanda's death and if required, the Union minister may be asked to clarify certain things.

Meanwhile, Shiv Menon, Sunanda's 21-year-old son from a previous marriage, said his mother was "too strong" to commit suicide and she died due to an "unfortunate combination of media stress, tensions and a wrong mix of different medication".

However, he ruled out that there was any foul play, saying both Tharoor and his mother were "very much in love" despite their "occasional differences" and that he did not believe the Union minister was capable of harming her physically.

"What the media reports have been alleging and implying in regard to my mother's death are not just untrue, it's outrageous. Anyone who knew my mother would simply know that she was too strong to commit suicide," he said in a statement.

"I also do not believe that Shashi was capable of physically harming her, let alone the speculation that he could have taken her life," he said.

Sunanda was found dead in a 5-star hotel in South Delhi on Friday night, a day after her Twitter spat with Pakistani journalist Mehr Tarar over an alleged affair with Tharoor.

"It was an unfortunate combination of media stress, tensions and a wrong mix of different medication. Her death was peaceful, she passed in her sleep. Please let her soul rest, I think there has been enough attention drawn towards her life," Menon said.

Meanwhile, sources said autopsy report has identified the mix of two drugs -Alprazolam and Excedrin,- which was consumed in overdose by Sunanda. Excedrin is a combination of acetaminophen, aspirin, and caffeine.

The autopsy report also mentions a "deep teeth bite" on the edge of the left palm apart from mentioning over a dozen injury marks.