Sandhya, 50, was missing since Dec 13 from her residence in the NRI Colony at Seawoods Estate, Thane. Forty-nine days after her disappearance, police in Navi Mumbai recovered remains suspected to be of Sandhya.

"We spend the entire day at the crime branch. Now that we know our sister has been so brutally murdered, we want a decent closure of her case. We want to know who killed her," said Lalit who has been quoted by "police sources" as laying the blame on the slain woman's son.

Lalit denies ever holding anyone culpable.

"I was shocked to read police sources claim that I had blamed my sister's son Raghuvir. After reading the report, I spoke to the police at the Nerul police station. He told me that no such statement had been issued by anyone in the police department. It'd be the height of irresponsibility on my part to blame my nephew," he said.

At the same time, Lalit admits that the deceased woman's son was a problem child.

"It's a fact that he's wayward and a bum. Sandhya was upset with her son and they shared a very stormy relationship. Raghuvir is definitely a shady character. But that doesn't mean he must have killed his mother. Raghuvir was questioned and so were several of his friends.

"We were at his interrogation till late in the night on Saturday evening. Police informed us that these people (Raghuvir and his friends) are petty thieves. But the cops are not able to link my sister's murder to these people."

Sandhya's husband, Indore-based Customs & Central Excise Commissioner Jaiprakash Singh, had lodged a missing person complaint with the Nerul police in Navi Mumbai and even announced a reward of Rs.50,000 for any information on her.

The police have formed a special team to investigate the murder.

Said Lalit: "Intense interrogations are on by different Crime Branch teams. They are even questioning Sandhya's family from her husband's side. Until now nothing has come out."

The slain woman's husband would also be questioned.

"I don't think the son could have committed such a heinous crime. But Raghuvir's friends are not desirable company. And they keep changing their statements at the interrogation. I am sure the police have clues that we are not aware of," said Lalit.

Lalit's elder sister, singer-actress Sulakshana Pandit has not been informed about the gruesome crime.

"We'll break it to her gently after the case is solved. She is not well. We don't know if she'd be able to take the shock. Dec 25 was Sandhya's birthday. Sulakshna didi wanted to wish her as usual. We somehow convinced her that Sandhya is in a no-network area," said Lalit.