Another Sunanda mystery for PTs: Sunanda was checked into Rm 307. But body found in 345. Why?
Subramanian Swamy Shashi Tharoor: Police trying to frame me in Sunanda's death through my staff
Shashi Tharoor had alleged that Delhi Police was trying to make his staff confess that he and Narain had murdered Sunanda.
NEW DELHI: Shashi Tharoor tried to interfere in probe, Delhi Police says. Tharoor had written a letter to Delhi Police commissioner saying they should stop interrogating and harassing his staff. He had called up the commissioner and also sent an email, sources said.
Shashi Tharoor had alleged that Delhi Police was trying to make his staff confess that Tharoor and Narain had murdered Sunanda.
The email, accessed by TOI, has been written in November wherein Tharoor alleges that Delhi Police officers even assaulted his staff Narayan.
Shashi Tharoor had alleged that Delhi Police was trying to make his staff confess that Tharoor and Narain had murdered Sunanda.
The email, accessed by TOI, has been written in November wherein Tharoor alleges that Delhi Police officers even assaulted his staff Narayan.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/Shashi-Tharoor-Police-trying-to-frame-me-in-Sunandas-death-through-my-staff/articleshow/45792019.cms
SIT to probe Sunanda Pushkar's death: Delhi Police
SIT to probe Sunanda Pushkar's death: Delhi Police
NEW DELHI: A special investigation team has been set up to probe Sunanda Pushkar's death, Delhi Police chief BS Bassi said on Wednesday.
"We have constituted a SIT that will be monitored by DCPs and ACPs," Bassi told reporters.
"As far as questioning of Shashi Tharoor is concerned, it was done and it will be done again if necessary," Bassi said.
"Whatever can be shared with the media will be done as and when more details emerge," Bassi further added.
"We will take all necessary steps as per our investigation plan," the Delhi Police chief said.
READ ALSO: Shashi Tharoor's statement
Sunanda's 72 tumultuous hours: She was depressed, ate little and slept late
![]()
Eleven days short of a year after the wife of former Union minister Shashi Tharoor, Sunanda Pushkar, was found dead at Delhi's Leela Hotel, police gave a sinister twist to the case on Tuesday by claiming that she was murdered.
Police commissioner B S Bassi jumped the surprise, saying a case of murder (section 302 IPC) had been registered (FIR No. 4) against unknown persons on January 1, two days after cops received Sunanda's final medical report from AIIMS. The medical report suggesting poisoning as the cause of death was first reported by TOI on October 10.
Tharoor, along with other witnesses who had deposed earlier before the sub-divisional magistrate, will be questioned by the police and cross examined. These include Tharoor's help Narain Swami, who was the only other person present in the room that day and his secretary Abhinav, police said.
Reacting to the new turn in the case, Tharoor said, "I am stunned to hear that the Delhi Police have filed a case of murder against unknown persons in the demise of my late wife Sunanda. Needless to say I am anxious to see this case is investigated thoroughly and continue to assure the police of my full cooperation. Although we never thought of any foul play in the death of my wife, we all want that a comprehensive investigation be conducted and that the unvarnished truth should come out."
"We have constituted a SIT that will be monitored by DCPs and ACPs," Bassi told reporters.
"As far as questioning of Shashi Tharoor is concerned, it was done and it will be done again if necessary," Bassi said.
"Whatever can be shared with the media will be done as and when more details emerge," Bassi further added.
"We will take all necessary steps as per our investigation plan," the Delhi Police chief said.
READ ALSO: Shashi Tharoor's statement
Sunanda's 72 tumultuous hours: She was depressed, ate little and slept late
Eleven days short of a year after the wife of former Union minister Shashi Tharoor, Sunanda Pushkar, was found dead at Delhi's Leela Hotel, police gave a sinister twist to the case on Tuesday by claiming that she was murdered.
Police commissioner B S Bassi jumped the surprise, saying a case of murder (section 302 IPC) had been registered (FIR No. 4) against unknown persons on January 1, two days after cops received Sunanda's final medical report from AIIMS. The medical report suggesting poisoning as the cause of death was first reported by TOI on October 10.
Tharoor, along with other witnesses who had deposed earlier before the sub-divisional magistrate, will be questioned by the police and cross examined. These include Tharoor's help Narain Swami, who was the only other person present in the room that day and his secretary Abhinav, police said.
Reacting to the new turn in the case, Tharoor said, "I am stunned to hear that the Delhi Police have filed a case of murder against unknown persons in the demise of my late wife Sunanda. Needless to say I am anxious to see this case is investigated thoroughly and continue to assure the police of my full cooperation. Although we never thought of any foul play in the death of my wife, we all want that a comprehensive investigation be conducted and that the unvarnished truth should come out."
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/SIT-to-probe-Sunanda-Pushkars-death-Delhi-Police/articleshow/45789554.cms
The poison that killed Sunanda Pushkar: All you need to know about Polonium-210
So what exactly is Polonium 210 and how dangerous can it be?
Yahoo India – 4 hours agoNEW DELHI: In a sensational revelation, Delhi Police Commissioner B S Bassi on Tuesday confirmed that the wife of former Union minister Shashi Tharoor, Sunanda Pushkar, who was found dead on January 17, 2014 in her hotel room in Delhi, had been murdered.
Delhi Police Commissioner BS Bassi said: 'Polonium 210, a radioactive isotope, is suspected to be the poison that may have caused her death. The viscera samples may now be sent to an FBI lab in the US or a lab in the UK.'
So what exactly is Polonium 210 and how dangerous can it be?
Polonium first hit the headlines when it was used to kill KGB agent-turned-Kremlin critic Alexander Litvinenko in London in 2006.
WHAT IS POLONIUM?
Polonium-210 is one of the world's rarest elements, discovered in 1898 by scientists Marie and Pierre Curie and named in honor of her country of origin, Poland. It occurs naturally in very low concentrations in the Earth's crust and also is produced artificially in nuclear reactors. In small amounts, it has legitimate industrial uses, mainly in devices to eliminate static electricity.
IS IT DANGEROUS?
Very. If ingested, it is lethal in extremely small doses. Less than 1 gram (0.04 ounces) of the silver powder is sufficient to kill. A 2007 study by radiation experts from Britain's Health Protection Agency concluded that once polonium-210 is deposited in the bloodstream, its potent effects are nearly impossible to stop. A poisoning victim would experience multiple organ failure as alpha radiation particles bombard the liver, kidneys and bone marrow from within. The symptoms shown by Litvinenko — nausea, hair loss, throat swelling and pallor — are also typical.
WHO CAN GET THEIR HANDS ON IT?
The good news — not too many people. The element can be a byproduct of the chemical processing of uranium, but usually is made artificially in a nuclear reactor or a particle accelerator. These nuclear facilities are monitored and tightly regulated under international agreements.
John Croft, a retired British radiation expert who worked on the Litvinenko case, said a dose large enough to kill would likely have to come from a government with either civilian or military nuclear capabilities. That category includes Russia — producer of the polonium believed to have killed Litvinenko — and Arafat's foe, Israel. But it also includes dozens of other nations, including the United States.
WHY WOULD IT BE ATTRACTIVE TO ASSASSINS?
Polonium makes a good weapon. Its large alpha particles of radiation do not penetrate the skin and don't set off radiation detectors, so it is relatively easy to smuggle across international borders. Polonium can be ingested through a wound or inhaled — but the surest method would be to have the victim consume it in food or drink. Litvinenko drank tea laced with polonium during a meeting at a luxury London hotel.
WHO HAS IT KILLED?
Polonium poisoning is so rare that it took doctors several weeks to diagnose Litvinenko's illness and security experts struggled to think of a previous case. More than five years after Litvinenko's death, no one has been arrested. British prosecutors have named ex-KGB agent Andrei Lugovoi as their chief suspect, but Russia refuses to hand him over.
Some speculate that the Curies' daughter Irene, who died of leukemia, may have developed the disease after accidentally being exposed to polonium in the laboratory.
Israeli author Michal Karpin has claimed that the cancer deaths of several Israeli scientists were the result of a leak at the Weizmann Institute of Science in 1957. Israeli officials have never acknowledged a connection.
There were also rumors that the death of former Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat was due to acute Polonium poisoning. (With inputs from AP)
https://in.news.yahoo.com/the-poison-that-killed-sunanda-pushkar--all-you-need-to-know-about-polonium-210-053603842.html
Why Is Polonium Used in Assassinations?
Your polonium questions, answered.
Photo by Hussein Hussein/PPO/Getty Images.
The body of Yasser Arafat was exhumed briefly on Tuesday so medical examiners could attempt to determine whether he was poisoned. Arafat’s widow, Suha, requested a murder investigation, and high levels of polonium-210 have been found on the Palestinian leader’s personal effects. Explainer readers have asked a series of polonium questions, which are answered below.
Why do political assassins like polonium-210? Because a small amount is very deadly. Polonium-210 is extremely toxic, and it’s relatively easy to smuggle across borders because it emits only short-range radiation. But it’s not a good choice for an assassin who wants to get away with his crime. Unlike many other potential poisons, polonium-210 is easily identifiable and can leave a radioactive trail to the culprit. It makes sense as an agent of murder only if you’re trying to make a statement. The chemical is, in a sense, a calling card, because only a handful of major countries, including Israel, the United States, and Russia, are known to maintain large stockpiles of polonium-210, and private entities can buy only small amounts under a government license.
The popularity of polonium-210 as an agent of murder may be overstated because of a single, dramatic case. In 2006, Alexander Litvinenko died slowly from polonium-210 poisoning in London. Before dying, the former KGB agent accused Vladimir Putin of ordering the attack. Litvinenko remains the only high-profile known case of deliberate polonium poisoning.
Where does polonium-210 come from? Bismuth. When showered with neutrons, the element bismuth absorbs one of them to become radioactive bismuth-210. Over the course of five days, the bismuth atom undergoes beta decay: The neutron turns into a proton, an electron, and an antineutrino, with the latter two particles eventually leaving the nucleus. The result is polonium-210. The world’s supply of polonium-210 is produced in a nuclear reactor in the central Russian city of Chelyabinsk.
Polonium-210 is also naturally present in the environment in small amounts, because it is a decay product of uranium.
How does polonium-210 kill? Through irradiation. Polonium-210 is a prolific emitter of high-energy alpha particles, and is 5,000 times more radioactive than radium. Alpha radiation loses much of its energy on first impact, so being exposed to external sources isn’t normally fatal. If, however, the substance enters the body, it damages bone marrow, causing nosebleeds, bruising, and hair loss. High doses travel through the body, irradiating tissue and sometimes killing the victim. Pictures of Alexander Litvinenko, who was allegedly fed dissolved polonium-210 in his green tea,dramatically demonstrate the external symptoms of polonium poisoning, including hair loss and yellowing of the skin.
If he really was poisoned, would polonium-210 still be detectable in Arafat’s body after eight years in a mausoleum? Possibly. The radioactivity of a sample of polonium-210 drops by one-half every 138 days, so examiners will be looking for approximately two-one-millionths of the original dose of radiation. Still, if Arafat was exposed to a lethal dose, it’s possible that tests will be able to detect the leftovers. It will likely be months before authorities get the results.
Got a question about today’s news? Ask the Explainer.