Now, saas, bahu and a murder plot

Primetime TV couldn8217;t have scripted it better. The sordid saga of R K Sharma, the Haryana IPS officer and prime accused in the Shivani ...

Primetime TV couldn8217;t have scripted it better. The sordid saga of R K Sharma, the Haryana IPS officer and prime accused in the Shivani Bhatnagar murder case, returned to the limelight in dramatic fashion today when Sharma8217;s mother Kamla made an emotional statement against her son and then said his wife, Madhu, 8216;8216;could be8217;8217; behind the murder.

The outburst, during which she also accused Madhu and her daughter Komal of ill-treating her, took place before assembled journalists at the Mani Majra residence of Kamla8217;s daughter Sudha Joshi.

The bit about Shivani came towards the end. Asked how the family had coped with the publicity surrounding Sharma8217;s alleged role, Kamla said it was 8216;8216;very insulting8217;8217; to her late husband, J.D Sharma, who would stay indoors to avoid embarrassing questions8217;8217;, she said.

She was then asked what she thought had happened in the murder, to which she replied: 8216;8216;It could be Madhu behind the murder of Shivani Bhatnagar8217;8217;. Her family members immediately interrupted, urging the journalists not to take note of the statement. 8216;8216;She said it in a fit of anger and doesn8217;t know what she8217;s saying8217;8217;, Sudha said. Later, Kamla also said she was unaware.

The rest of the diatribe could have been from any TV soap. Reading from a two-page statement, Kamla said Sharma 8212; currently in Tihar Jail 8212; was siphoning off her assets, including fixed deposits worth lakhs by making her sign documents on two recent occasions they8217;d met.

The first was when she visited him in jail, and later when he8217;d come out on bail for his daughter8217;s wedding.

Fixed deposits and certificates amounting to more than Rs 2.5 lakh were taken away from her, the 82-year-old Kamla said, and her will was changed to his credit.

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While the allegations were hurled at her son, the target was clearly her daughter-in-law. Kamla alleged that Madhu and Komal were maltreating her and causing her grave mental agony. They were, she said, in forcible possession of her house and were refusing to move out.

When contacted for her reactions, Madhu Sharma blamed her sister-in-law for 8216;8216;fishing in troubled waters because they want to grab the property8217;8217;.