Watch, lies nail son in murder of Sandhya Singh

Chargesheet To Be Filed Next Week

C Unnikrishnan & S Ahmed Ali TNN

March 09, 2014
Mumbai: A gold-plated wristwatch, a bundle of lies and evidence showing his presence in the vicinity of the crime for a considerable amount of time may nail Raghuveer Singh for his mother Sandhya’s murder.
    Fourteen months after Sandhya’s skeletal remains were found in a marsh in Navi Mumbai, the city crime branch has concluded that her son could have murdered her. Cops are likely to file the chargesheet next week, before the stipulated 90-day period since Radhuveer’s arrest. Sandhya was the sister of yesteryear actors Vijeta and Sulakshana Pandit.
    The case had witnessed several twists and turns with cops questioning several people, including Sandhya’s husband, suspended Customs commissioner Jai Prakash and his lawyer friend. “Circumstantial evidence indicates that Raghuveer has committed the murder though he did not admit his role. We will base our case on circumstantial evidence,” a police officer said.
    On December 13, 2012, Sandhya was wearing a Rado wristwatch when she left her home with a friend to go to a Nerul bank. “The friend recalls her wearing a watch. Sandhya later visited another friend before heading home,” an official said.
    A few days later, Raghuveer called up a friend to find a buyer for the same watch. The friend spoke to his mother, who got it valued at Rs 16,000 from a goldsmith,’’ an officer said. The friend informed Raghuveer about the value and he asked his friend to sell the watch.
    The same day, Raghuveer called up his sister and asked her to check on Sandhya. “Why couldn’t he call the mother directly?” an officer asked.
    Further, on December 14, Raghuveer told the house help that his mother was dead and may have been murdered. Raghuveer had tried to throttle her in the past, the officer said. Technical evidence in the form of mobile phone location analysis showed that Raghuveer, his girlfriend and another friend were in the vicinity of the spot where Sandhya’s remains were found for a considerable period of time a few days after she went missing.
    Sources also said that Raghuveer had organized a party on December 14. “Though he claimed that the party was planned much before, we found
that it was not the case,” an official said.
    Sandhya and Raghuveer often over money issues for drugs. Police said Raghuveer had even stole her cash and assaulted her earlier for which she had filed a complaint with the Nerul police.
    Raghuveer has been denying his role during the interrogation. Jaiprakash had named their neighbour, a police inspector and the son of an IPS officer as suspects. Police said they have found no evidence to establish the claims. Raghuveer had approached the Bombay HC and Supreme Court for anticipatory bail but it was rejected after police submitted a confidential report indicating his role.
CASE FILE
Dec 13, 2012 | Sandhya Singh goes missing from Nerul. She had left home to go to a bank to deposit jewellery worth Rs 20 lakh
Jan 28, 2013 | Two UK birdwatchers find her skull and other skeletal remains in a marsh in Nerul. DNA samples prove it to be Sandhya’s remains. Investigations indicate that somebody killed her and threw her remains just opposite her NRI complex home in Nerul

    THE ACCUSED Raghuveer Singh (26) often fought with Sandhya over money for drugs

THE VICTIM Sandhya Singh, a 50-year-old Navi Mumbai resident. She was the sister of yesteryear actresses Vijeta and Sulakshna Pandit and music composer duo Jatin-Lalit. Sandhya’s husband, Jai Prakash, is a Customs and central excise commissioner in Indore. At present, he is suspended following a departmental inquiry