Sunanda Pushkar death case: Court directs Delhi Police to hand over suite to Hotel Leela Palace

New Delhi: A Patiala House court on Tuesday directed Delhi Police handover the room of Hotel Leela Palace where former union minister Shashi Tharoor's wife Sunanda Pushkar was found dead in January 2014.

During the last hearing Metropolitan Magistrate Dharmender Singh had asked the police why, despite the court's order, it has not unsealed a room in Hotel Leela Palace

The court had also asked a senior police officer to appear before it and explain why its order to unseal room number 345 that has remained locked since January 17, 2014, has not been followed.

On September 4, the court had cracked down on the Delhi Police for delaying the de-sealing of the room.

The hotel had claimed that due to the sealing of the suite, which costs between Rs 55,000 and Rs 61,000 a night, it has suffered a loss of over Rs 50 lakh in the last three years.

Sunanda Pushkar, 52, was found dead under mysterious circumstances in Delhi's Hotel Leela Palace on January 17, 2014. The suite was sealed henceforth.

A FIR was registered by Delhi Police on January 1, 2015, against unknown persons under Section 302 (murder).

Sunanda Pushkar was found dead on the night of January 17, 2014.