Delhi Police dragging its feet on the Sunanda murder probe

This is a follow-up to our post on the same subject, dated January 24, 2016.

[dropcap color=”#008040″ boxed=”yes” boxed_radius=”8px” class=”” id=””]S[/dropcap]unanda murder is full of mystery packed in enigma delivered by puzzle, and handled with kid gloves by the Home ministry… The power of the Powerful in India is unimaginable. Winston Churchill is probably rolling in his grave on our mis-appropriation of his quote!

Nobody in media asks what the status of Sunanda Murder probe is after the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Lab report confirmed her death as a case of poisoning in January 2016. In a move that suspiciously smacks of dilatory tactics, the Delhi Police, under Commissioner B S Bassi, sent a request to the Health Ministry to form an expert Medical Board to analyse the FBI report and the earlier report which confirmed poisoning as well as the injuries on Sunanda. This was done a few weeks before Bassi retired in February 29. The interactive timeline below shows the details (Hover over the graph for details):

Timeline of the investigation in the year 2016

The Health Ministry then sent the Delhi Police suggestion and findings of the FBI Lab report and AIIMS findings to the Medical Council of India to constitute another Medical Board. Was this a sleight of hand by some “influential people” that coaxed Delhi Police into taking this step? Was this even needed? Once it has been established that there was poisoning involved in the death, shouldn’t the next step be that of a custodial interrogation of Tharoor, as suggested by Subramanian Swamy?

The inability to do closure on a relatively open and shut homicide case that took place in the capital city will hurt India’s credibility abroad and Modi knows this.

[dropcap color=”#008040″ boxed=”yes” boxed_radius=”8px” class=”” id=””]N[/dropcap]ow the Delhi Police, under new Commissioner Alok Kumar Verma is claiming that they are waiting for the new Medical Board’s analysis on the findings of FBI Lab and AIIMS! Meanwhile, Delhi Police’s legal team is buying time giving creative excuses to the trial court, where a murder case is registered.  Delhi Police is keeping mum on the results of polygraph tests on Tharoor’s aides and friends who were present in the hotel room on the fateful day, when Sunanda met with mysterious death.

In February Delhi Police questioned Tharoor’s staffers and friends and a Pharma shop in Lodi Road where Alprax was purchased. Tharoor too was questioned on Feb 14, 2016 for about 5 hours.

Sunanda was supposed to have given interviews to four journalists including Barkha Dutt, Sagarika Ghose and Rahul Kanwal in the afternoon of the fateful day on January 17, 2014. Aren’t these three media personalities curious to know what happened to the person who promised interviews, was found dead within hours? Delhi Police has taken statements from these journalists and they are supposed to be witnesses in the case. This loud silence from media is deafening.

[dropcap color=”#008040″ boxed=”yes” boxed_radius=”8px” class=”” id=””]W[/dropcap]hat about the political leadership? The AAP Government led by Arvind Kejriwal, blames Delhi Police for anything and everything under the sun but keeps silent on the mysterious death of Sunanda. The inability to do closure on a relatively open and shut homicide case that took place in the capital city will hurt India’s credibility abroad and Modi knows this. Then why the delay?

Where are Lutyen’s Feminists and Women Rights leaders? Where is National Women’s Commission and Delhi Commission for Women? Sunanda deserves justice and justice delayed is justice denied.

The latest on this is that Delhi Police now wants to consult the FBI lab. For what, one wonders.
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1. Text in Blue points to additional data on the topic.