Police yet to trace owner of pistol used by Varsha Bhosle

Suspense continues over the ownership of the pistol used by singer Asha Bhosle's daughter Varsha to end her life even as police recorded the statements of some members of the family and staff on Tuesday.

"We are trying to figure out the owner of the Belgian-made 0.6 calibre pistol used by Varsha to shoot herself dead," a police officer involved in the probe said.

"We will soon record the statement of Varsha's mother Asha Bhosle, aunt and singer Lata Mangeshkar, who lives in the same building, brother Anand and her ex-husband Hemant Kenkre. As of now, nobody among the family and friends has come forward to say the weapon belongs to him or her," the officer said.

Fifty-six-year-old Varsha had shot herself dead at her mother's flat at Prabhu Kunj on the posh Peddar Road of South Mumbai and her body was found lying on a sofa on Monday.

The statements of another aunt Usha Mangeshkar, a relative Rachna Shah, driver Vijay Nakashe and housemaid Deepali Mane have been recorded so far.

According to the police, Varsha was under treatment of doctors based in Pune for depression. "We are seeking her health-related documents from the doctors and at home," an official said.

Meanwhile, the post-mortem report has revealed that Varsha died of haemorrhagic shock due to bullet injury and excessive bleeding. The viscera has been preserved for further investigations, police said adding that the post mortem report did not disclose the exact time of suicide.

Police have registered a case of suicide and they do not suspect foul play.

The bullet that pierced through Varsha's head was recovered from the scene, sources said, adding the sound emanating from the small firearm might not have been heard by neighbours due to its low decibel.

Four bullets were still intact in the magazine of the pistol, they said.

The funeral was held in the wee hours of today at Chandanwadi crematorium in Marine Lines.

Asha, who rushed from Singapore on hearing the news of her daughter's death, did not attend but Varsha's former husband Kenkre was present, sources said.

Varsha, a singer and columnist, was alone in the flat at the time of the incident.

Although she was undergoing treatment for depression for the last two years, it is not yet clear what prompted her to take the extreme step, police said.

Inquiries so far have indicated that her depression had aggravated after the demise of noted fashion photographer friend Gautam Rajadhyaksha with whom she wanted to start an orphanage. She had reportedly attempted to end her life twice in the past.