‘My son may have hand in Sandhya murder’

Raghuveer Often Fought With His Mom: Jaiprakash

S Ahmed Ali TNN

Mumbai: Jaiprakash Singh, the husband of Navi Mumbai resident Sandhya Singh, on Monday told the Mumbai crime branch that their son Raghuveer may have been involved in her murder. His statement gives a new direction to the investigation, which was heading nowhere.
    Jaiprakash is a customs and central excise commissioner in Indore. Sandhya, sister of music composers Jatin-Lalit and actors Vijeta and Sulakshana Pandit, went missing on December 13, 2012. A month later, her skull and skeletal parts in a nearby marsh.
    In his written statement to the police, Jaiprakash said that his son was a drug addict and often fought with Sandhya over petty issues. “Hence, he suspects his son’s role in the murder to some extent,” said a crime branch officer.
    Jaiprakash has again been called for questioning as his earlier statements had been inconsistent. Jaiprakash had first told the police that his wife was carrying ornaments worth Rs 24 lakh on the day she went missing, but later said that the jewellery were worth Rs 1 crore and she had gone to the bank to deposit them. “But our investigation showed that she never went inside the bank,” the officer said. Jaiprakash had also said that he did not interact much with his wife as he was in Indore.
    The crime branch had moved court seeking permission to conduct scientific tests on Raghuveer after he refused to cooperate with the probe. His statements were also inconsistent, they added. “He hosted a party at home a day after his mother went missing. His girlfriend Shreya was present at the party,” said an officer. Raghuveer had told relatives that his mother was at her brothers’ place in Juhu. “He had also told the domestic help not to wait for his mother, though she had asked them to be at home,” the officer said.
    The crime branch will conduct a narcoanalysis test on Shreya, who is at a rehabilitation centre. Last week, Raghuveer had refused to undergo narcoanalysis, and agreed only for brain-mapping and lie-detection tests on the condition that they are conducted outside the state. The police have objected to this and the court is likely to give its order on August 20.
THE CASE DEC 13, 2012 | Sandhya Singh, wife of Indorebased customs and central excise commissioner Jaiprakash Singh, goes missing. She had left home to go to a bank in Nerul JAN 28, 2013 | Two British birdwatchers find skeletal remains in nearby marsh; family identifies Sandhya
WHY RAGHUVEER IS UNDER SCANNER He tells the police Sandhya went to a bank on the day she had disappeared, while he tells the domestic help that she had gone to her brothers’ home in Juhu
Raghuveer, who is allegedly a drug addict, often used to fight with Sandhya over petty issues, especially money

Raghuveer and his father Jaiprakash Singh