Man detained for SMS threat to Tharoor

NEW DELHI - A man was Wednesday detained by the police here on the suspicion of sending an SMS threat to Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor, police sources said.

We have picked up Manik Verma from west Delhi for questioning. He has not yet been arrested, a police source told IANS.

The source said the police have not received any official complaint from the minister.

Tharoor has not approached us with any complaint. We are making investigations on our own, said the source.

Earlier in the day, officials from the Tughlak Road police station went to the minister’s Lodhi Estate residence and spent about an hour there to probe the SMS threat.

“We (came) to inquire SMS threats to the minister after seeing reports in the media. We were not called by the minister,” a team member told reporters.

Police said no case has been registered. Officials of Delhi Police’s Special Cell also visited Tharoor’s residence in the evening.

Jacob Joseph, the officer on special duty with the minister, told reporters that Tharoor had received the SMS threat and the home ministry and police havw been alerted.

He did not reveal the SMS content.

Tharoor is caught in a row with Indian Premier League (IPL) chief Lalit Modi after Modi accused him of telling him not to reveal the ownership pattern of the IPL Kochi franchise. Tharoor has denied the charge.