Bollywood music director duo Jatin-Lalit on Tuesday said the remains of a body found near Delhi Public School on the Palm Beach Road on Sunday belong to their sister Sandhya Singh.
Singh, 50, is also the sister of yesteryear actresses Sulakshana and Vijeta Pundit.
She had been missing since December 13, 2012.
“We have identified the earrings, hair clips and the saree recovered from the spot. My sister was wearing those when she left to go to bank around one-and-a-half months ago. Now, we don’t have any doubt that it’s her body,” said Lalit Pundit, Singh’s younger brother.
A resident of NRI complex, Singh, a homemaker, is said to have loved wearing a lot of jewellery. On December 13, she had gone to a bank in Nerul to deposit jewellery worth Rs20 lakh. A friend of hers dropped her near the bank. But she did not return home.
“The police had been claiming that she went with someone she was acquainted with on her own and that she was not kidnapped,” Lalit said. “We could see lots of holes in their investigation right from the beginning and that has been proved now. We are sure that the culprits brutally murdered Sandhya and then dumped her body in the secluded area.”
The police, however, have not confirmed that the remains recovered are Singh’s. “Though the family members have identified the items, we can’t come to a conclusion based on that. We have sent some bones for DNA tests to the forensic lab in Kalina and are waiting for the reports,” said inspector Shivaji Gavit of NRI police station.
“We also doubt that she was murdered as claimed by her family. We are investigating the case but haven’t detained anyone yet.”
Michael John Oates, a bird watcher and geologist, noticed the skull, bones and other items while going to spot birds in the secluded marshy patch. He photographed them and approached the NRI police on January 27.
Jaiprakash Singh is central custom commissioner in Indore. They have two daughters and one son.
