Wife of Indian minister found dead, following reports he had an affair

The wife of Indian minister Shashi Tharoor

has been found dead, following reports he

had an affair, Indian media say. Sunanda

Pushkar is reported to have been found

dead in a five-star hotel in Delhi,

according to police sources.

The couple became embroiled in controversy

over a series of Twitter messages on

Wednesday Jan. 15th that appeared to

reveal he was having an affair with

Pakistani journalist, Mehr Tahrar. They

later insisted they were happily married,

blaming "unauthorised tweets". Ms Pushkar

admitted publishing the tweets, but later

denied it.

Reports said that her husband had

informed the police of her death. It was

unclear how she died. Mr Tharoor married

Ms Pushkar, a former Dubai-based

businesswoman, in 2010.

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.

Source: BBC