Murderous intent: Chetan Anand sons arrested

But as law-enforcers laid the week-long case to rest, another denoument was being enacted at the Rajvansh residence. Among those assembled there were actor Shatrughan Sinha and television producer Siddharth Kak, who waited for the actress’s body to be escorted by her brother Kanwar Singh back from the Cooper Hospital mortuary. Lending an ironic touch to a murder laced with lies and suspense, Rajvansh’s body was consigned to flames at around 4 pm even as the maid confessed her guilt to the Juhu police.

Though police had suspected that the murder was an inside job, it took two post-mortem examinations to support the homicide theory and forensic tests to home in on the killers. Mala has told investigators that both the Anand brothers had conspired in the plot while she and Swamy had strangled her employer with a dupatta.

Rajvansh, who was found dead in her hall on March 27, was a close personal friend of the late Chetan Anand and was staying at the latter’s residence near Ruia Park at Juhu. Mala says her employer was aware of the relationship she was having with Vivek and that they frequently quarreled over it. Rajvansh had also objected to the use of a bedroom in the house and they wanted to put an end to the “nuisance”. Police are, however, also investigating the possibility of a property dispute. But it is clear that the murder was premeditated as Swamy had been summoned from Tamil Nadu, police say.

Recalling the details of that fateful night, the maid says she and Swamy had found Rajvansh alone in the bungalow, dressing up for a party. Finding the bathroom door ajar, Mala and Swamy took her by surprise and strangled her with a dupatta.

To confuse the forensic evidence, as Vivek had suggested, they had dragged the body out into the hall and left it where it was “discovered” about an hour later. In that crucial hour, Swamy had escaped, Mala left to “purchase milk” and Ketan established an alibi at a party. Mala says they had dragged the body out of the bathroom by the heavy gold chain Rajvansh was wearing to cover up the ligature marks left by the strangluation. It was about an hour after the murder that the maid summoned Ketan over the telephone, when the body was “discovered”.

Speaking to the media today, Rajvansh’s brother, who arrived from the United Kingdom on Sunday, said he was happy with the ongoing investigation. “Let the police do their duty,” he remarked. Producer director Vijay Anand, brother of Chetan Anand, on the hand rued that the police should not have conducted the second post-mortem. Police had also collected nail clippings from both Ketan and Vivek. Both brothers, however, refused to provide blood samples at the Nagpada police hospital on Saturday. Nail and blood samples had been taken from Mala and the watchman as well.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone-VII) Rajinder Singh said today that the fingerprints found on Rajvansh’s body were those of Mala and Swamy. All four have been arrested and charged with murder under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code, he added.

Forensic experts explain that the presence of prominent ligature marks around Rajvansh’s neck was more than enough to confirm the cause of death. Also, police inquiries with the family physician revealed that the actress did not suffer from any illness and there did not appear to be any other reason for her death.

The first autopsy report had showed that Rajvansh had been strangulated. There were injuries on the arms and head, which indicated that she had tried to defend herself. Her body was found in a sitting position with all her jewellery intact, which ruled out robbery as motive.