Mumbai, Aug. 28: Mikhail Bora had emailed his sister Sheena Bora's resignation letter to her employer 13 days after her purported death, a relative claimed today.

"He did it at his mother Indrani Mukerjea's behest," the relative from her mother's side told The Telegraph .

Indrani, the wife of former STAR India CEO Peter Mukerjea, is now in police custody and is accused of murdering her first child and eldest daughter Sheena on April 24, 2012.

Mikhail, who was taken to Mumbai today for questioning, was not available for comment. Mikhail had iterated during the day that he would cooperate fully with the police because he was seeking justice for his sister.

Speaking to reporters tonight, Mumbai police commissioner Rakesh Maria did not make any reference to the emails but confined himself to saying: "We have interrogated Mikhail as well and he has also given us some points which we are verifying."

But a senior police officer echoed the relative's claim. "Not just the letter of resignation, Mikhail also sent a letter to Sheena's landlord in Mumbai in July 2012, cancelling the lease of the rental apartment. He posted a picture of his mother Indrani on Sheena's Facebook page on February 11, 2014. Sheena's LinkedIn profile was kept in operation by Mikhail till two weeks ago," the officer said.

The resignation letter was sent to her employers on May 7, 2012, and the letter to her landlord sometime in July 2012.

"Mikhail had said that he knew Sheena's social media and Internet passwords and they trusted each other completely," said the officer.

The relative claimed that Indrani tempted Mikhail with the promise of money, threatened him with withdrawal of his monthly quota of pocket money and blackmailed him with his alleged past brush with drugs.

"Indrani used to send Mikhail Rs 12,000 every month as pocket money. Mikhail had said she had threatened to stop sending him the amount if he did not do as he was told. She also promised to pay him a large sum of money as reward for doing all this. That money never came," said the relative.

The person added that Mikhail would also open Sheena's Facebook page from time to time and stare at it. "He missed her terribly. They were exceptionally close siblings as they had grown up with the same pain of not being wanted by their own mother," said the relative.

The police said that Indrani had called not just her former husband Sanjeev Khanna, the Calcuttan who allegedly confessed today, to Mumbai but also Mikhail a day before Sheena's murder in 2012.

"He was very much in Mumbai around the time but he does not seem to have known about the murder - he says he was perplexed when Indrani just sent him away from Mumbai and asked him never to come back. When he asked her about Sheena, Indrani had told him that she had been sent to rehab for excessive drinking," said the relative.

Indrani had earlier sent Mikhail to a drugs rehab centre in Bangalore, the relative said, because of which he did not find the news hard to accept. "But Sheena's total silence bothered him - he missed her," said the relative.

"Mikhail had a job with an airline in Delhi for a few months some years back but he did not like it and went back to Guwahati. Indrani sent him Rs 12,000 while Sheena lived in Mumbai. We had met Sheena when she visited Guwahati in November 2011 for her close friend's wedding. Indrani did not like to see Mikhail in Mumbai," the relative added.

Mikhail, who was tasked with looking after his grandparents, struggled to take care of his needs with the amount his mother sent him every month, the relative said. "He would bitterly complain that it was measly. Indrani sent her parents money separately," said the relative.

Mikhail, brought to Mumbai from Guwahati today morning, spent the entire day answering questions at Bandra police station, 2km from Khar police station where his mother was being questioned by commissioner Maria.

Later, Indrani, her driver Shamwar Rai and former husband Sanjeev were brought face to face with Mikhail.

"We interrogated the third accused (Sanjeev) and he has confessed to his complicity in the crime," Maria said.

Peter in station

Peter, who had made conflicting statements, was called to Khar police station where Maria was also present. Sources said Peter wanted to submit a four-page statement but the police "advised" him not to do so. In an earlier statement, Peter had said he did not know that Sheena was Indrani's daughter. The claim has come under severe strain since then because of his own "clarifications" and other disclosures.

Skeletal remains

The police commissioner said: "This morning, we have recovered the skeletal remains of the deceased Sheena Bora."

He added that the skeletal remains would be sent for a DNA test tomorrow. The police chief did not explain how the police concluded that the remains were of Sheena before the DNA test was done.

Sources said that Sanjeev was taken to the spot in Raigad district, around 80km from Mumbai, earlier in the day and the assumption could be based on his alleged confession.

"We have also recovered her passport from Dehradun today. This would negate the theory that Sheena went to the US. Further investigations are going on," Maria said.

A Bandra court has allowed an application by Indrani's lawyer seeking permission to meet her, adds PTI. The lawyer, Gunjan Mangala, had moved the court yesterday, saying that police were not allowing her lawyers to meet her. The court directed the police to follow the guidelines framed by the apex court on the rights of the accused.