The administration of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) on Wednesday refuted allegations made by Dr. Sudhir Gupta, head of its forensic department, that he was pressurised to alter the autopsy report of Sunanda Pushkar, the wife of former Union minister Shashi Tharoor.
Addressing a press conference along with his colleague Dr. Neerja Bhatia, AIIMS PRO Amit Gupta said, “The allegations made by Dr. Sudhir Gupta are baseless. There was no pressure on him to change post-mortem report.”
The AIIMS spokesperson further added that there no external pressure either on any one to alter the autopsy report of Sunanda Pushkar.
“As far as we know, there is absolutely no evidence that Sunanda Pushkar’s post-mortem report was manipulated,” Dr. Neerja Bhatla of AIIMS said.
When asked to tell if any disciplinary action will be taken against Dr. Sudhir Gupta by the AIIMS administration, the AIIMS spokesperson said, “If needed, the administration can file charges against Dr. Sudhir Gupta.”
However, he clarified that there has been no attempt to remove him from his post as of now.
“He is the head of forensic department, there has been no talks on his removal from his post,” Dr. Neerja Bhatia said.
“We have been trying to contact Dr. Sudhir Gupta, he is on leave, he is not absconding, he is the part of the institution,” Dr. Amit Gupta stated.
The clarification from the AIIMS administration came hours after senior BJP leader and noted lawyer Subramanian Swamy reiterated that Pushkar was murdered and called for proper investigation in the case.
“I have been saying this from the beginning that she was murdered by a professional gang. There should be proper investigations in this case as there are certain new aspects which have come out and which strongly indicate that she was murdered,” said Swamy.
Swamy said that Pushkar had told people that she will expose the corruption in IPL.
“How come a person is cremated in the next 24 hours from death and without the matter being settled?” he asked.
He further said that it was strange that Tharoor was admitted in the AIIMS Hospital when the autopsy was about to be conducted on Pushkar’s body.
Dr. Sudhir Gupta had yesterday said that he was pressurized to give a doctored report in Pushkar’s death case.
Gupta headed the team of experts who conducted the postmortem on Pushkar’s body. He has alleged in his complaint to the Health Ministry and the Chief Vigilance Commission (CVC) that he was pressured by top officials to show that Pushkar’s death was ‘natural’.
Gupta claimed that he did not bow to the pressure and stated in his report that Pushkar died due to drug poisoning, which could be ‘suicidal or homicidal’.
