Tak, a suspected Lashkar-e-Taiba extremist nabbed in Jammu and Kashmir June 21, made the revelation in police custody that Laila Khan - missing since February 2011 - have been killed along side four other members of her family and their bodies were disposed of somewhere near Mumbai.
Laila's father Patel questioned Tak's contention and accused him of trying to defraud him in a realty matter in Mumbai.
Speaking to a personal news channel in Mumbai, Patel said he didn't "believe" Tak's claim that Laila, her mother Saleena Begum, siblings Zara, Imran, cousin Reshma and a domestic help were killed and their bodies disposed of somewhere around Mumbai in February 2011.
Giving vital leads in a case that has long confounded investigators, Tak told the Jammu and Kashmir Police that five-six people were interested by the killing of Laila and her family.
They were shot dead and buried in an isolated place near Mumbai, Tak is thought to have told interrogators in Jammu and Kashmir.
"Initially after his arrest, Tak was looking to mislead police. But later, when the Mumbai police too joined the investigations, Tak told us that five to 6 characters were all in favour of wiping out Laila Khan and 4 members of her family, " Jammu and Kashmir's Deputy Inspector General of Police Gareeb Das told in Jammu.
Tak married Laila's mother Saleema Begum after she divorced Patel.
Even as Mumbai police is predicted to take Tak's custody from Kishtwar, a separate kidnapping case was lodged against the accused in Mumbai's Oshiwara Police Station two days ago.
Das added that Tak, who said that sharpshooters have been hired to kill Laila and her family, was cooperating with interrogators and gradually revealing information at the case.
He said Tak claimed that he didn't know the name of where where the victims were taken but he could identify the spot.
The five were taken to the world at the pretext of flying to Dubai as they faced a threat to their lives as a result of large property they owned, Tak is assumed to have told Jammu and Kashmir Police.
The killers gunned them down and buried the bodies before escaping, Tak said.
According to Das, the crime would have remained a mystery had they not seized Laila's Maharashtra-registered vehicle that Tak dropped at Kishtwar. It was found outside his rented shop within the town May 28.
Das said the tale would unfold once the Maharashtra Police take Tak to Mumbai and the crime spot.
"All would rely on whether police recover the bodies of the victims, " Das said.
Questioning Tak's claims, Patel said that if Tak's claim was true, then the Mumbai police should register a primary information report and investigate the matter.
However, the Mumbai police have denied any knowledge at the alleged murders, though a team of town police was prone to leave for Jammu soon. Last month, a team had gone to Jammu for probing the problem which had strong Mumbai and Maharashtra connections.
Patel said that Tak and his partner Asif Sheikh used to return regularly to their Santacruz home.
"I always used to caution my members of the family to watch out for them, I DISCOVERED their behaviour suspicious, but they didn't heed to me, " Patel said.
He admitted that the Tak-Sheikh duo was planning to dupe him in some property matters as Tak was found with a faux PAN card bearing his name (Patel's) name.
Referring to a mysterious fire a couple of months ago which partly damaged their bungalow in Igatpuri, a hill-station in Maharashtra's Nashik district, around 130 km from Mumbai, Patel contended that there could a link between Laila and her family's disappearance and the fire, but declined to elaborate.
Laila, whose original name is Reshma Patel, was last seen in a 2008 movie Wafaa with Rajesh Khanna.
According to sources, the Mumbai police had found Laila to have questionable links which allegedly resulted in her disappearance from Mumbai in February 2011.
After tracking her mobile phone, her last call records showed her to be at her farm house in Igatpuri, a hill-station in Maharashtra's Nashik district, around 130 km from Mumbai.
