Skeletal remains found in Navi Mumbai linked to missing woman

Mumbai: Skeletal remains, suspected to be of the wife of a senior Customs officer who went missing in mid-December, were found near a school in neighbouring Navi Mumbai, police said on Tuesday.

The skull and bones were found at a patch of marshy land near an elite school in Nerul area. The human remains were spotted by Michael Oates, a geologist, on Sunday near the missing woman`s residence, they said. Police suspect the remains could be of Sandhya Singh, the sister of yesteryear actresses Sulakshana and Vijeta Pandit, who has not been seen since last month. Sandhya`s two brothers are noted Bollywood music composers Jatin-Lalit. The unidentified remains were sent for scientific examination. Only forensic analysis and examination of DNA samples would conclude if the remains were of Sandhya or not, police said. Sandhya (50) is not traceable since December 13 when she went to a bank in Nerul carrying jewellery worth around Rs 20 lakh with her, police said. She stayed with her family at NRI Colony in Seawoods, Nerul, a few meters away from the spot where the body was found. Her husband, Jaiprakash Singh, Customs and Central Excise Commissioner, is posted in Indore, they said. Singh told a news agency by phone, "My son Raghuveer, who was taken to the spot by cops, has told me that hair switch, "mahakal` (religious) thread and dental cavity found on the remains indicated that they were of Sandhya." "Lalit also feels the remains were of Sandhya," Singh, who is rushing to Mumbai, said. But he immediately added, "However, we are waiting for forensic laboratory reports and praying to God that our fears do not come true." According to Singh, on December 13 Sandhya was on her way to the local branch of Abhyudaya Co-op Bank, about 3km from her residence, to deposit the jewellery in the locker. Sandhya was dropped near the bank by her friend Uma Gaur, who was in a car, and since then she has been missing, a police officer said. Singh suspects his wife may have fallen prey to a trap laid by somebody. He had announced a reward of Rs 50,000 for information on whereabouts of Sandhya. PTI