New Delhi, Jan 20

Sunanda Pushkar, wife of Minister Shashi Tharoor, died due to drug overdose, says the autopsy report, adding more than a dozen injury marks were also found on her body.

According to police sources, the post-mortem report submitted to Sub-Divisional Magistrate Alok Sharma said Pushkar died due to drug overdose.

There were more than a dozen injury marks on her person, suggesting a scuffle, it said.

Sharma, who got the report from All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), declined to reveal its contents saying it was sealed.

The post-mortem was conducted by a three-member team of doctors headed by Sudhir K. Gupta.

"I will submit my report to police by tomorrow afternoon," Sharma told IANS.

He said that further directions on the criminal investigation would be given to police on the basis of the report.

After the initial post-mortem Saturday, doctors alluded that it was a "case of unnatural, sudden death".

Sunanda Pushkar was found dead under mysterious circumstances in her room at The Leela Palace hotel here Friday.

Police investigators had said it could be a case of drug overdose or overdose of sleeping pills but added that things would be clear only after the detailed autopsy report was read.

They recovered two strips of alprax drug from her hotel room.

"The huge quantity of consumption of such drug may affect functioning of brain and leads to a comatose situation," said a police officer.

Pushkar's death followed days of public spat involving her and a Pakistani woman journalist who Pushkar said was pursuing her husband. The journalist denied the charge.

At one time, Pushkar said she would divorce the minister. Later, she and Tharoor issued a statement saying they were happily married.

By:IANS