This is in complete contrast to what the cops believed so far. Senior Inspector Ramesh Keni, who had probed the 1998 double murders in which Palande was convicted in one and acquitted in the other, told this newspaper on Monday that Simrin was the daughter of Palande's sister.

All this while, Simrin had been variously introducing Palande as her brother, boyfriend, and husband. On Tuesday, she told the officers of Crime Branch Unit IX that her association with Palande was a partnership of convenience, and she could have "never imagined" that he would kill estate broker Karan Kakkad; who, according to her, was a "down-andout bookie".

She told the police that her real name was Seema Dhubash, aged 37; and Jallandhar was her hometown. She claimed that she was introduced to Palande in 1995, when she arrived in Mumbai to become an actress.

She said in her statement to the police that Kakkad had recently lost Rs 50 lakh in cricket betting, and had begun spending a lot of time with her. She told the cops that she and Kakkad were neighbours at Oberoi Springfields in Oshiwara, and he mistook their friendship for a relationship.

Palande, who was living with her at Oberoi Springfields and whom Kakkad knew as her brother Karan Sud , hated their friendship, Simrin claimed. "Palande was being possessive, and may have planned to kill Kakkad out of jealousy," she said.

In yet another contrast to her earlier statements, Simrin told the police that she did "lure a few men" to help Palande. "He (Palande) used me to trap wealthy men, and I used his contacts to get a foothold in the modelling world.

Our dealings ended there," she said in her statement. Simrin claimed that she was 21 when she was introduced to Palande at a Juhu gymnasium.

She said, "My father was a retired school principal in Jallandhar, and I left home to try my luck in Bollywood against his wishes. I started doing odd jobs in Mumbai, and stayed as paying guest in the western suburbs.

" She said in her statement that Palande arranged for her accommodation, and it was not long before they started living together at Brown Hills Apartments in Juhu. They later shifted to a flat in Ruia Park, Lokhandwala, she told the police.

She admitted to having helped Palande in the 1998 double murder case, in which she was booked for forcible occupation of Anup Das's apartment. Palande was sent to the Kolhapur jail, but the two were reunited in 2002, when he jumped parole, following which they rented an apartment in Andheri on forged documents, she claimed.

Over the past three years, she had become a regular at Page 3 parties, she told the police, saying Palande helped her with contacts, and got her the invites. She said that she was in a relationship with south Mumbai stock broker Gautam Vora, who was questioned by the police in the supermodel Viveka Babajee suicide case in 2010.

Vora has denied the affair, saying Simrin was merely an acquaintance whom he saw at parties (less)