Wife of Indian Politician Dead After Bizarre Twitter Feud

A strange political scandal in India took a far more serious turn when the politician's wife at the center of it was found dead in her hotel room yesterday, reports Reuters. The cause of Sunanda Pushkar's death is unclear, and it comes just days after the 52-year-old was involved in a high-profile fight over Twitter with a journalist she suggested was after her husband, government minister Shashi Tharoor. "There were certain injury marks on the body, but we can't divulge details at this point," says one doctor quoted by the Times of India. (The story also floats the possibility of a drug overdose and notes reports of an argument between the couple.)

The scandal took off Wednesday, when, according to Pushkar, she got into her husband's Twitter account and posted private messages apparently sent to him by journalist Mehr Tarar. She called Tarar a stalker. "I have nothing to say to a woman clearly out of her mind," Tarar tweeted in response. On Thursday, Pushkar and her husband issued a statement declaring that they were "happily married," reports the BBC. "I'm absolutely shocked," Tarar tweeted upon hearing the news of Pushkar's death. "This is too awful for words. So tragic I don't know what to say. Rest in peace." (More India stories.)