‘Sunanda Pushkar wanted to speak about IPL,’ says journalist Nalini Singh
New Delhi: Journalist Nalini Singh on Friday said that former Union Minister Shashi Tharoor's wife Sunanda Pushkar, who was found dead under mysterious circumstances in her hotel room in 2014, knew of her husband's affair with Pakistani scribe Mehr Tarar as early as six months before her death.
Singh was speaking to the press after being questioned by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Delhi Police in connection with Sunanda's death probe earlier in the day.
"The police wanted to know about my telephonic conversation with Sunanda on the eve of her death. They wanted me to recall what she said, the tone of her voice. They also questioned me on the IPL angle to the case," Singh told ANI.
"I know that on June 27, 2013, on Sunanda's birthday, she had called us for a party at her house. During the party, she had voiced her concerns about Tharoor's relationship with Mehr Tarar, particularly three days that they spent together in Dubai. I asked for proof, and she said that Dubai was her town and she had many friends there," she added.
Singh further stated that Pushkar wanted to share information about the Indian Premier League but was unable to do so before her death.
"[At a later date] Sunanda told me she wanted to speak about the IPL, and that she has taken all the blame on herself. When I asked her if she wanted to speak to a TV reporter, she didn't reply," Singh said.
She called me on the day she died, so I was asked, what did she speak about and what was her tone: Nalini Singh pic.twitter.com/UO59DG1s4d
— ANI (@ANI_news) January 23, 2015
Sunanda told me she wanted to speak about the IPL, and that she has taken all the blame on herself: Nalini Singh, Senior Journalist
— ANI (@ANI_news) January 23, 2015
When I asked her if she wanted to speak to a TV, she didn’t reply: Nalini Singh, Senior Journalist on Sunanda Pushkar death case
— ANI (@ANI_news) January 23, 2015
Pushkar, who married Tharoor in 2010, had checked into The Leela Hotel in Chanakyapuri a day before her death on January 17, 2014.
Tharoor's aides said the couple had checked into the luxury hotel because of renovation work at his New Delhi bungalow.
Prior to her death, Sunanda was embroiled in a spat with Tarar, whom she accused of stalking her husband.