Siddharth Das, who had a live-in relationship with media honcho Indrani Mukherjea - arrested for murdering her daughter Sheena Bora - on Tuesday claimed to be the father of the victim and her brother, Mikhail Bora.Das, who now lives in Dum Dum on the outskirts of the city, admitted that he never married Indrani and said the "ambitious woman" dumped him and his children as he was not "well off".Though he feels it strange to believe if a mother could murder her child, Das said Indrani should be "hanged" if she really murdered Sheena.Having met Indrani in Shillong through common friends in 1986, Das said he was in a live-in relationship with her till 1989 when she left."We did not marry, she was in a college in Shillong and lived in the city. Through common friends we came to know each other. Then we had a live in relationship and I stayed at her residence. Her parent accepted our relationship."Sheena was born in 1987 and Mikhail in 1988. Sometime later after our son's birth, she dumped me," said Das who later moved to Arunachal Pradesh and subsequently settled in Kolkata in 1998.
Describing Indrani as "highly ambitious", Das said she dumped him as he could not afford the high life she yearned for.Das, who last spoke to Sheena when she was in class 10, said he didn't want to rake up the past as the reason for not keeping in touch with his children. "I last spoke to Sheena when she was in class 10. I never interacted with Mikhail. I was settled in Kolkata, happily married, so I didn't want to rake up the past," he said. "Shocked and heartbroken" over his daughter's murder, Das, who came to know about the incident only through the media, said he wanted the murderers to be punished and offered helping out in the investigations. "I am heartbroken upset. I want all those involved to be punished. I am ready to cooperate with the investigation. I have nothing to hide so I am more than willing to help the police," he said.
Asked if he believed Indrani could murder, Das said: "It feels strange to believe that a mother can kill her child...But there is a possibility a person driven by greed for money can do anything. If she has done it then should be hanged."Das also said he never kept track of Indrani after she left him. "Since 1989 when she dumped me and my children, it has been a close chapter. I made no efforts to know what she was doing. To whom she was married."My wife and son are now aware about my past but they have said they are not bothered by it," added Das. Das' wife claimed that she had no knowledge about her husband's past life."I have been married to Das for 16-17 years. I didn't know anything about his past and I have nothing to do with his past," she said.Indrani, wife of former media honcho Peter Mukherjea, Sanjeev Khanna, her ex-husband, and her driver are behind bars for the murder of Sheena Bora.Meanwhile, Mumbai police are expected to grill Das for more clues to the Sheena Bora murder case that has created countrywide buzz.