Udayan killed for money: Girl's uncle

ABHIJEET CHATTERJEE, TT, Bankura, Feb. 6: Akansha Sharma's uncle today alleged in Bankura that Udayan Das, accused of killing her, had withdrawn Rs 1.2 lakh from her bank account in phases in October last year.

"My niece had Rs 1.2 lakh in an SBI account in Patna. The bank statements show that the entire money was withdrawn from different ATMs in Bhopal in October," said Rajesh Singh, Akansha's uncle who came to Bankura today.

Singh said Akansha's father Sivendra Sharma, chief manager of a nationalised bank in Bankura, had given the money to his daughter to buy a flight ticket to the US and pay for the visa.

"She had told us she would go to the US to work for an international aid organisation. But now, we understand that the original plan was hatched by Udayan," said Singh, who hails from Samastipur in Bihar.

Singh alleged his niece was killed for money.

"Udayan killed Akansha in July but the money was withdrawn in October. The primary objective of Udayan was to take the money from my niece. When she refused, he killed her," Singh claimed.

None of Singh's claims was substantiated by police.

Udayan was brought to Calcutta today. Bankura police said he would be produced in the district and sessions judge's court tomorrow.

"We will question him tomorrow to know the motive behind Akansha's murder. It is yet to be established that he killed her for money. He has been giving contradictory statements and so we cannot rule out or confirm anything now," said Sukhendu Heera, the Bankura superintendent of police.

Akansha's brother Ayush returned to their Bankura home today with the mortal remains of his sister.

"We will not leave Bankura now. The police might need us in the investigation. But after 10 days, we will go to Patna and perform the rituals.... We will cooperate with the police and we demand extreme punishment for Udayan," said Singh.