Signature on letter to cancel lease did not match Sheena’s, says landlord

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“Rahul told us he was moving out and that Sheena was missing. Suspicious of the whole thing, we sent an email to Sheena, asking her to fax us a letter for discontinuing the agreement. A letter purportedly signed by her reached us in mid-July but that signature did not match her previous signatures on cheques she gave us. We informed local police. I don’t recall there being any follow up,” said the landlord, who sent the email in July 2012, more than two months after Sheena was murdered. Her former landlord received the signed letter by courier on July 21.

Sheena and Rahul lived in a one-bedroom apartment in Lok Raunak Society in Marol. The two had a rent agreement with the owners for 24 months, from October 1, 2011, to September 30, 2013. The lease was effectively cancelled on July 31, 2012. An employee of Indrani forged Sheena’s signature on the letter, police said.

The owner recalled they insisted that all procedures be followed before Rahul released the flat. “We demanded all those formalities to be ticked was because a huge sum was involved. The letter, with Sheena’s signature, had ‘her consent’ for us to return Rs 70,000 to Rahul, which was their deposit money, he added.