'Never married Indrani but Sheena and Mikhail are my children,' says Siddhartha Das
Kolkata: Sheena and Mikhail Bora's father Siddhartha Das emerged in Kolkata on Tuesday to state that he had fathered the children but never married Indrani Mukerjea.
He told the media: "All reports are wrong. I never married Indrani. We lived together for three years. Sheena was born in 1987 and Mikhail in 1988."
Das also said he wanted the strictest punishment for Indrani if it is proved she killed their daughter Sheena. "I want her hanged," he said.
Das said he had been in touch with Sheena after Indrani and he parted ways. "She was my first daughter and I was very fond of her. She used to respect me as a father and knew who her biological father was. The last time I spoke to her was in 2000, when she was 13 years old."
"After 1989, I have had no relations with Indrani and came to know about Sheena's murder through media. I have lived in Dum Dum, Kolkata fot the last 17 years. I am married to Babli Das and have a child with her," said Das.
He also said he was ready to cooperate with Mumbai Police in the murder investigation. "Mumbai Police has not yet contacted me. I am ready to cooperate and help them in every way," added Das. He also said he was ready for a DNA test.
When questioned whether Indrani could kill Sheena, Siddhartha said, "Yes, there is a chance. She was always money-minded."
Meanwhile skeletal remains purportedly of the 24-year-old unearthed in Raigad were sent to Forensic Science Laboratory in Mumbai.
Indrani was was arrested last week in Mumbai for allegedly murdering Sheena in April 2012 in Mumbai.
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On Monday, the metropolitan court had extended the police custody of all three accused - Indrani, her ex-husband Sanjeev Khanna and driver Shyam Rai - till September 5. Investigators probing the case have said that suspects Indrani and Sanjeev allegedly placed Sheena's body on the seat of their vehicle as they drove from Mumbai to Raigad to dump it there.
Explaining the sequence in which the body was disposed of, the Mumbai Police for the first time told the Bandra Metropolitan Magistrate court that after Sheena was murdered on April 24, 2012, the corpse was first kept in a suitcase and driven to the garage of Indrani's husband and former Star TV CEO Peter Mukerjea's Worli home.
On April 25, Indrani, her former husband Sanjeev Khanna and driver Shyam Rai took the corpse out of the suitcase and placed it inside the car. The three then set off for a three-hour journey with the corpse propped up on the seat of the moving vehicle. The body was finally taken out at Ghogade Khurd in Pen and stuffed back in the suitcase kept in the boot of the car, documents filed by police in the court on Monday, said.
Police had also told the court that they would like to establish the "financial trail" in the crime. The skeletal remains unearthed in Raigad district where the 24-year-old victim's body was allegedly dumped in 2012 on Tuesday reached the Forensics Science Laboratory in Mumbai. Recently FSL also received blood samples of Indrani and her son Mikhail Bora which would be used for DNA matching with samples of the skeletal remains.
During interrogation, Indrani has reportedly maintained that Sheena is in the US and is not coming forward as she hates her. Indrani was charged with poisoning and attempting to murder Mikhail on the day her daughter Sheena was allegedly killed more than three years ago. Mikhail had earlier told the police that she had thrice attempted to kill him and also spiked his drink the day Sheena disappeared in April 2012 following which police included the additional two charges in the FIR filed in the case.
According to Mikhail's allegations, hours before Sheena was taken out by Indrani and Khanna on April 24, 2012 on what turned out to be the last drive of her life, Indrani had drugged him. He managed to escape from the spot and averted becoming the second murder victim, he said.
