- Remains unearthed from six-foot deep pit in the farmhouse grounds
- Skeletons ‘likely’ to be those of star, her mother and siblings
- Stepfather has confessed to killings, claim Mumbai police
By
Kerry Mcdermott
10:48 EST, 12 July 2012
|
20:51 EST, 12 July 2012
A man understood to be Laila Khan’s stepfather has reportedly confessed to her murder
The remains of six bodies have been recovered from the grounds of the luxury Indian farmhouse of Bollywood actress Laila Khan, police in Mumbai have said.
Miss Khan, her mother Saleena Patel, and four of her siblings have been missing since February 2011.
A man understood to be her stepfather has reportedly confessed to the murders of all six members of the family.
According to police in Mumbai Pervaiz Ahmed Tak – who claims to be Mrs Patel’s third husband – killed the family in a fit of jealousy over his wife’s second husband, Asif Sheikh.
Mumbai’s joint commissioner of police Himanshu Roy told reporters in India on Wednesday that Tak had led officers to the human remains, which were uncovered from a six-foot deep pit at the farmhouse in Igatpuri.
Mr Roy said three bodies were placed at the bottom of the pit and covered with stones and a blood-soaked mattress.
A further three bodies had been placed on top of the mattress and covered with more stones.
He said that while the identity of the skeletons could not yet be confirmed, it was ‘reasonably likely’ that they were those of Laila Khan, her mother Saleena Patel, her three sisters, and her brother.
Knives and a pole were among the items recovered by officers from the farmhouse and shown to the press at a briefing on Wednesday.
According to police in Mumbai Miss Khan’s family had enjoyed a party at the Igatpuri farmouse on the night of February 8, 2011.
After the party an argument is believed to have broken out between Tak and Laila’s mother Saleena after she praised her second husband, Asif Sheikh.
Mrs Patel reportedly ran to the ground floor of the farmhouse where Laila and her siblings had been sleeping.
But Tak allegedly hit his wife over the head with a blunt object, killing her.
A scuffle then broke out between Tak and Laila Khan, her sisters, and brother.
Tak reportedly called for help from Shakir Hussain, from Kashmir, who he had appointed as a watchman at the farmhouse a few months earlier.
Police said Tak decided to kill Laila and her siblings as they had witnessed him killing Mrs Patel.
Tak, who hails from Kishtwar in Jammu and Kashmir, is then understood to have hired two drivers to take him to the Jammu region in the north of India.
Murder site: The bungalow at Igatpuri where the six skeletons were found
Officers from the Mumbai Crime Branch show items recovered from Laila Khan’s farmhouse, believed to have been used in the murders of the actress and her family
He was arrested recently after an SUV belonging to Laila Khan was recovered from his house.
Mumbai police said it was likely Tak
committed the murders in the ‘heat of the moment’ following the argument
with his wife over Asif Sheikh.
Mr Roy said: ‘Tak felt that the family relied a lot on Sheikh and that he had an influence over them.
‘This often angered Tak.’
Actress Laila was best known for her role in the 2008 Bollywood film Wafa: A Deadly Love Story.
Laila Khan
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skeletons cannot be of her three sisters she’s only got two
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inhumane
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Oh my, beautiful grown up children – what a terrible waste. My heart goes out to Nadir Patel for such a tragic loss.
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Awful.
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And you thought our police force was useless?
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