Thiruvananthapuram: Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Wednesday refused to make any comment on the new twist in the mysterious death of Sunanda Pushkar.

On Tuesday, Dr Sudhir Gupta, head of forensic sciences at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), stirred the hornet's nest by claiming that he was pressured into giving a false report in the Sunanda Tharoor death case.

Dr Gupta has reportedly written to the Health Ministry and the Chief Vigilance Commission, alleging that he was pressured by 'top officials' to show Sunanda's death as natural.

Dr Gupta, who headed the panel that conducted Sunanda's post-mortem, alleged that he was pressured to act in an "unprofessional manner" to cover up the case.

In his letter, he alleged a "malafide agenda to oust me as Head of Department" which he said "have genesis in the cases of Sunanda Pushkar and Nido Tania since I had taken a professional and ethical stand which went against the vested interests of certain persons in AIIMS."

Sunanda was found dead in her room at a five-star hotel in Delhi in January. The death triggered a high-pitched controversy in the media especially because of reports of alleged differences between the deceased and Tharoor.

In the days before her death, Sunanda had also alleged in television interviews that Tharoor was having an affair with a Pakistani journalist.