Sunanda Pushkar, who was found dead in a Delhi hotel on Friday, was seriously ill, according to a former diplomat and close friend of her husband, Indian Minister Shashi Tharoor.

TP Sreenivasan, who hails from New Delhi and has been a diplomat for more than three decades, told reporters that Shashi Tharoor had informed him of his wife’s illness.

“She had undergone treatment in France recently and after check-ups it was found that she had some serious health issues and he was a worried man. I pacified him after hearing it,” said TP Sreenivasan.

Reports said Sunanda Pushkar and Shashi Tharoor had visited a leading private hospital recently and certain tests were conducted on Pushkar.

Sunanda Pushkar had visited a leading private hospital recently and certain tests were conducted on her

It appears that Sunanda Pushkar was identified with suspected systemic lupus erythematosus (connective tissue disorder) and this is a disease which has no definite treatment.

Sunanda Pushkar had also undergone colonoscopy.

A doctor at the same hospital said he saw the couple quarrelling playfully.

Reports also said Sunanda Pushkar had an appointment at the hospital January 20.

Sunanda Pushkar and Shashi Tharoor were married at Tharoor’s 200-year-old ancestral home in Palakkad in August 2010.

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