Siddharth Das, wearing a helment, speaks to reporters in Kolkata. (Agence-France Presse Photo)
Siddharth Das, a Kolkata resident for the last 17 years, has claimed that he is the biological father of Sheena Bora, and said that if his ex Indrani Mukerjea did murder their daughter, she must hang.
"If she has murdered Sheena, she should be hanged," Mr Das said after he emerged in public today wearing a helmet to hide his face and, later, a handkerchief. "I am heartbroken," he added. He also denied that he tipped off the Mumbai Police about Ms Bora's murder.
Mr Das claimed he met Indrani Mukerjea in Shillong in 1986 as a student. They started living together at Indrani Mukerjea's Guwahati house and had two children, Sheena, born on February 11, 1987, and Mekhail born on September 9, 1988.
In 1989, however, Indrani Mukerjea said she was going to Shillong for some work and disappeared. "I have never seen or spoken to her since," said Mr Das. Asked why Indrani Mukerjea left him, Mr Das said, "I don't know but she wanted a better lifestyle, she had big dreams, I did not have much money."
On being asked why he did not contact the police after he first heard about Ms Bora's murder from newspapers and channels, Mr Das said, "On the first day, when I heard the lies, that Sheena was her sister being described as her sister, I thought I should go. But in the evening news, I heard she admitted Sheena was her daughter. Then I said ok. Then they started showing Siddharth Das is hiding, he went to Bangladesh. Why should I hide? I am ready to cooperate with the police. I am ready for DNA tests."
After leaving the home of Indrani Mukerjea's parents, Mr Das claimed he went back there a couple of times to see his children but felt unwelcome. Once, he claims, he asked the grandparents if he could take Sheena and Mekhail away. The grandfather refused to let them go, saying Mr Das didn't have money and would not be able to take care of them.
In 2000, Mr Das spoke to Sheena Bora once over the phone. There is a contradiction about who called whom but it was a perfunctory conversation, he claimed. That was the last time he spoke to Ms Bora. After that, there was no contact.
Ms Das repeatedly denied he married Indrani Mukerjea or divorced her. "If some court documents are being shown with my signature on them, the signature is forged," he said. Mr Das also claimed he knew where Sheena and Mekhail Bora's original birth certificates are.
"I will inform the media shortly about where to find them," said Mr Das, adding, "I have no idea why Sheena's birth certificate shown on TV has her grandparents' name on it. May be it was necessary. Someone had to go to parent-teacher meetings at school. I was not there, neither Indrani," he added.
On why he was still hiding his face, Ms Das said, "I am hiding my face because I am working in a small private company. I am not a high profile man. I am a simple man. I have a small salary. If I show my face, I may be sacked today itself and the landlord of my home may ask us to leave."
After breaking up with Indrani Mukerjea, Mr Das worked in Arunachal Pradesh as a teacher from 1992 to 1995. He had come to Kolkata in 1978 and lives on the city's northern outskirts with his wife and son. He works for a private company that makes furniture.
Indrani Mukerjea, a former media executive, was arrested last week in Mumbai for murdering Sheena Bora, then 24 years old, in April 2012 in Mumbai. She has denied any wrongdoing, and, in lengthy interrogation, has maintained that Ms Bora, moved to the US three years ago and was not strangled by her in collusion with her second husband, Sanjeev Khanna, and her driver, both of whom have also been arrested.