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“The truth has finally prevailed” and Shashi Tharoor is vindicated

India"The truth has finally prevailed" and Shashi Tharoor is vindicated

After “years of torture” in Shashi Tharoor’s words, a case was set up against him after his wife, Sunanda Pushkar’s death, and was cleared.

The Delhi court refused to frame charges against Shashi Tharoor and cleared him of all charges and the court today also rejected the charge sheet given to them by the Delhi police that stated that Mr. Tharoor, 65, should be investigated. The Delhi court swept away all charges and cleared the former Union Minister’s case.

On the night of January 17, 2014, Sunanda Pushkar was found mysteriously found dead in a suite of a luxury hotel in Delhi.  That night Shashi Tharoor was attending a Congress meeting in Delhi along with then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the Gandhis and the entire Congress leadership.

Of note, the Tharoors had shifted into the hotel because their home was being renovated.  After Sunanda was found dead, allegedly by an overdose of a medicine, Shashi Tharoor was charged with abetment to suicide and cruelty by the Delhi Police.

Shashi Tharoor had told the court that evidence showed the death of Sunanda Pushkar was neither a suicide nor homicide.  He said that the death should be considered an accident as Sunanda had been struggling with various medical ailments at the time of her death.

There was a burst of relief finally after years and Shashi Tharoor said to the court, “Most grateful, your honour. It’s been seven-and-half years of absolute torture. I really appreciate it.”

He also wrote a long statement later, writing that his family would finally mourn Sunanda Pushkar in peace. “This brings a significant conclusion to the long nightmare which had enveloped me after the tragic passing of my late wife Sunanda. I have weathered dozens of unfounded accusations and media vilification patiently, sustained my faith in the judiciary, which today stands vindicated.”

Mr Tharoor said in the current system of justice, the process was all too often the punishment.

The lawyer also said a special investigation team had exonerated the politician.  The court was told that after years of investigation by the police, the prosecution had failed to conclusively establish the cause of Ms Pushkar’s death.”

Mr Tharoor and Sunanda Pushka got  married in 2010. Her death four years later shook political and friend circles leading to much speculation, notably as some of her last tweets hinted at a rift between the two and appeared to accuse the MP of an affair with a Pakistani journalist.

A post mortem revealed no evident reason for her death. A week after her death, the police alledged that she appeared to have died of hidden poisoning.

A year later, they registered a murder case without naming any suspect. Three years later, they charged Mr Tharoor and during this long-drawn out process which Mr. Tharoor calls torture, he was constantly attacked by political rivals over the case, and he would retort back that the charges were “preposterous and baseless” and the product of a “malicious and vindictive campaign”.

For years, the Tharoors were in the media spotlight over allegations of IPL corruption, which led to his resignation as a Union Minister and “50 crore girlfriend” taunts from the BJP.

Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said, “The truth has finally prevailed. The persistent abuse, slander and vilification of our colleague Tharoor by BJP and TV anchors… today the court has finally held that Tharoor has nothing to do with the alleged murder. Will the PM come forward and apologise for his remarks to Tharoor and Congress party? The falsehood and lies of BJP have fallen flat.”

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