Friday, January 17, 2014

Shashi Tharoor: Minister's wife Sunanda Pushkar 'found dead'




The wife of Indian minister Shashi Tharoor has been found dead, following reports that he was having an affair, Indian media have said.
Sunanda Pushkar is reported to have been discovered at a hotel inDelhi.
The couple became embroiled in controversy over a series of Twitter messages on Wednesday that appeared to reveal he was having an affair with a Pakistani journalist.
They later insisted they were happily married, blaming "unauthorised tweets".
Mr Tharoor married Ms Pushkar, a former Dubai-based businesswoman, in 2010.
A public row between the couple erupted on Wednesday when messages began to appear on Mr Tharoor's Twitter account suggesting he was having an affair with journalist Mehr Tahrar.

Fact box: Shashi Tharoor

  • MP with Congress Party
  • Born in London in 1956
  • Joins United Nations in late 1970s
  • Career diplomat for 25 years
  • 2007, loses election for the post of UN secretary-general to Ban Ki-moon
  • Enters Indian politics in 2009 as junior external affairs minister
  • Resigns a year later amid controversy over involvement in bidding for a cricket team
  • Becomes minister of state for human resource development in 2012
  • Newspaper columnist and author of several novels and non-fiction works
Ms Pushkar admitted publishing the tweets, but later denied it.
She was found dead in a five-star hotel in Delhi, according to police sources.
Reports said that her husband had informed the police of her death. It was unclear how she died.
Ms Tahrar, who denied having an affair with the minister, tweeted after she heard of Ms Pushkar's death: "I'm absolutely shocked.
"This is too awful for words. So tragic I don't know what to say. Rest in peace, Sunanda."
Mr Tharoor, a former UN diplomat, was forced to resign from his first ministerial position in 2010 amid controversy over his involvement in bidding for a cricket team.
Ms Pushkar had allegedly received a free stake in the Indian Premier League franchise he was bidding for.