APRIL 5: A day after four suspects were arrested for the murder of actress Priya Rajvansh, ugly skeletons continue to tumble out of the cupboard at the Juhu residence. The First Information Report (FIR) registered by the Juhu police states that Rajvansh's maid Mala Choudhary (35) and her accomplice Askoh Chinnappa Swamy had been offered Rs 4,000 by Ketan Anand (53), son of the late film director Chetan Anand, to murder the actress only four days before she was strangled to death. The initial plan, Mala said, was to poison the actress but the modus operandi was later altered.Another startling fact, accortding to the FIR, is that Ketan's brother Vivek (50) was at the Juhu bungalow the night Rajvansh was murdered.The theory of a property dispute has also gained ground, with the FIR stating that Mala claimed that Rajvansh was in need of money and had indicated her willingness to sell the 3,000-sq ft Ruia Park flat, which belonged to Chetan Anand, who was a close friend.That, coupled with letters writted by Rajvansh to Vijay Anand, uncle of the accused Ketan and Vivek and brother of Chetan Anand, have pretty much convinced the police of the motive behind the March 27 murder. Rajvansh had said that Vivek and Mala, who are alleged to have been romantically involved, had been harrassing her in recent months. She also wrote to her London-based brother UK-based Kanwar Singh saying her was being ill-treated.The letters assume significance as Vijay Anand is the executor of Chetan Anand's will, which mentions that Ketan, Vivek and Rajvansh were to have an equal share in the Ruia Park bunglow.Ketan was residing with his father at the Juhu bunglow since 1985. He shifted to Chembur after he was married the same year. Then, in September 1996, Ketan separated from his wife and shifted back to the Juhu bungalow. Chetan had seperated from his wife in 1957, seven years before making Haqeeqat, when he met Rajvansh.Arguing before Holiday Court Magistrate P P Soroshi, who has remanded Vivek, Ketan, Mala and Swamy to police custody till April 10, advocate Satish Maneshinde claimed that the Anand brothers had been framed. How could a woman of slight build like Mala have strangled Rajvansh, Maneshinde asked. He also argued that the accused were in the film industry and there was no question of having an affair with their maid servant, adding that police should investigate the role of the driver on that fateful night.Maneshinde also told the court that the Juhu bungalow is not prime property as is being made out to be. No developer will buy it for a premium price as it falls under the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ), he told the court, where Chetan Anand's former wife Uma was also present.
