Facts about Laila Khan murder case

MUMBAI: The Laila Khan murder mystery is a heady mix of sex, lies and jealousy. Add to this property worth crores of rupees and it has all the ingredients of a Bollywood potboiler.

A day after the Mumbai Police crime branch claimed to have found six skeletons from the Bollywood starlet's Igatpuri farmhouse in Nashik district, the police claimed that Laila and five other members of her family were killed out of jealousy.

Here are a few facts, as revealed in police investigations, about the Laila Khan murder case:

#1. Parvez Ahmed Tak, the main accused who claims to be the third husband of Laila's mother Saleena Patel, has reportedly told the police that he killed the family in a fit of rage as he suspected his wife of having a physical relationship with her second husband, Asif Sheikh.

#2. Giving the sequence of events on the fateful night of February 8, 2011, the police said Tak and Laila's family organised a dance party and barbecue dinner at the luxurious Igatpuri farmhouse where the starlet's family was vacationing. After dinner, while Laila and her siblings went to the ground floor to retire for the night, Tak and Saleena proceeded to the first floor. Later at night, Tak had a heated argument with Saleena after she praised Sheikh.

#3. According to Tak's confession to the police, Saleena came rushing down to the ground floor even as she continued arguing with Tak. An enraged Tak hit Saleena on her head with a blunt object resulting in her death. Laila and her siblings then got into a scuffle with Tak and blows were exchanged, the police said.

#4. Tak then called out for Shakir Hussain, a Kashmiri who he had appointed as a watchman at the farmhouse a few months ago. Shakir and Tak first attacked Imran (Laila's brother) as he was the only male member present. They later killed Laila and her sisters.

#5. After killing Laila's family, Tak went to Khoti, about 8 km from Igatpuri, and contacted a travel agent and hired two drivers to drive him to Jammu. Tak and Shakir first came to the Oshiwara flat in Mumbai and took away some belongings.

#6. Tak belongs to Kishtwar in Jammu and Kashmir and he was arrested by the J&K Police recently after an SUV belonging to Laila was recovered from his house.

#7. Laila Khan's mother Saleena Patel's decision to make her second husband the caretaker of their Igatpuri farm house triggered the killings, Tak told crime branch investigators.

#8. Investigators in the probe revealed that Saleena Patel's proximity to her second husband and the family's decision to relocate to Dubai made Tak feel abandoned.

#9. Tak, the third husband of Laila's mother, said he went on a killing spree as he did not like the family's reliance on Saleena's second husband, Ashif Sheikh. "Parvez Tak was insecure about the fact that Saleena was still in touch with her second husband Asif Shaikh and that she relied on him and trusted him," Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Himanshu Roy said.

#10. "Parvez Tak said he had a heated argument with Saleena and killed her. Laila and her siblings were on the first floor and came down after hearing loud voices. He then killed them with the help of the watchman, Shakir," Roy said.

#11. Another possible reason was property. The police said Saleena had given Asif Sheikh, her second husband, the power of attorney to her houses and this had angered Parvez, a 29-year-old contractor from Jammu's Kishtwar who had met the 52-year-old Saleena a few years ago and married her.

#12. Laila went missing with five family members in February 2011. Her father Nadir Patel had filed a missing report about his family members at Oshiwara police station, Mumbai last February.

#13. J&K police have said the starlet, missing for the last 11 months, was murdered along with her family members on the outskirts of Mumbai last year.

#14. Laila Khan (born as Reshma Patel) was a Pakistan-born actress, best known for her role opposite Rajesh Khanna in the 2008 Bollywood movie Wafaa. It was a supposed to be a comeback film for Rajesh Khanna but it bombed at the box office and received mostly negative reviews. (With inputs from agencies)