Zee Media Bureau
New Delhi: Two days after Dr Sudhir Gupta, head of AIIMS Forensic Department, alleged that he was pressurised to manipulate the postmortem report of Congress MP Shashi Tharoor`s wife Sunanda Pushkar, ex-Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said on Saturday that he was in no way involved in this matter.
Talking to reporters here at Congress headquarters, Azad said, “Can I ever think of such stupid things? Newspapers have written about the credibility of that person. The entire nation knows about me and they know that what type of person I am. I can`t ever think of doing any criminal activity.”
Instead, Azad rubbished claims of the head of AIIMS` forensic medicine department and questioned Sudhir Gupta`s credibility, saying he can "shoot his mouth off anytime against anybody".
Citing newspaper reports over certain allegations levelled against Gupta in past by his colleagues and superiors, the senior Congress leader questioned his credibility.
"You must have read in newspaper reports about credibility of the person. He can shoot his mouth off anytime against anybody," Azad said.
Meanwhile, Sudhir Gupta said that he will interact with the media soon to clarify his stance, adding that his duty was to pursue the truth in the case, according to reports.
"I`ll answer according to the government`s rules and the rights of a government servant... My duty is to pursue the truth in the Sunanda Pushkar`s post-mortem case," he said.
Gupta, who headed a three-member team that did the post mortem on the body of Pushkar had reportedly filed an affidavit before Central Administrative Tribunal in a service matter in which he had leveled the said allegation.
On Tuesday, Dr Sudhir Gupta had made a sensational allegation that he was pressured to change the postmortem report.
He also claimed that he was forced to say that the death of Sunanda Pushkar was "natural" and added that there is a malafide agenda to oust him from his position for taking a "professional position which went against vested interests".
"I was under pressure not to speak on autopsy details without discussing with top quarters of government. As a medical practitioner, I thought it is unfair to change my view on any autopsy. I gave correct statement to media after autopsy and was not biased. I gave representation to minister to save myself from departmental politics," he had said.
However, AIIMS had rejected the charge.
Sunanda Pushkar was found dead in a 5-star hotel in South Delhi on the night of January 17, a day after her twitter spat with Pakistani journalist Mehr Tarar over an alleged affair with Sunanda`s husband Shashi Tharoor.
