While Simrin Sud claims that she had married Vijay Palande in 1998, the latter says that the two are relatives

As days of the investigations pass, contradictory statements keep pouring out from Simrin Sud and Vijay Palande, the two accused in the Karan Kakkad murder case.

Having variously described her relationship with Palande as her brother, her uncle, and her boyfriend, Simrin took a U-turn yesterday, identifying him as her husband, whom she wed back in 1998. Meanwhile, her ‘husband' Palande still insists they are cousins, and that he was helping her establish a career in Bollywood.

Additional Commissioner of Police Deven Bharti confirmed the matter yesterday, revealing that while Simrin had revealed the two were spouses, Palande was still claiming they were cousins. Palande yesterday also disclaimed Simrin's involvement in the Kakkad's murder, taking sole responsibility for it.

He even did a volte-face on his motive for killing Kakkad, claiming that he did not kill Kakkad to seize his money, but because he realised that Kakkad was spying on him, and passing on information to a ‘rival group'.

He even claimed that Kakkad was threatening to blow the cover that he maintained carefully before his other victim Anuj Tikku. It was this threat that forced him to hatch a plot to eliminate Kakkad.

He also insisted that he had never been physically involved in any of the murders, but had instructed Dhananjay Shinde and Mahesh Gajkosh to murder the victims and dispose of their bodies. He further added that Simrin's father had helped him financially in 1995, and helping Simrin establish herself in Bollywood was his way of returning the favour.

He was a manager at a restaurant in Juhu, and had developed contacts in the film industry. He took Simrin under his wing and urged her to frequent Page 3 parties. He did not mind her flirtatious nature, claimed Palande.

Simrin was aware of Palande's 2009 marriage to a German lady, who has been involved in the usurpation of the Tikku apartment. Palande said that it had been his wife's idea to invest in property aboard, and with her help, the couple had purchased assets in Barcelona, Germany and Thailand.

He also claimed that he was liaising with the government of Slovenia, which had asked him to promote tourism for their country. For this, he had roped in Anuj Tikku, as he had a foothold in the worlds of modelling and advertising.