All You Need to Know: The Hema Upadhyay-Haresh Bhambani Murders

A handy explainer to one of the most publicised, high-profile murder cases in Mumbai.

Hema Upadhyay’s cousin says the family is sure her ex-husband Chintan is behind the murder.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint/Hema’s photo by Anne Maniglier)

The Hema Upadhyay-Haresh Bhambani murder case is one of the most gruesome, high-profile murder cases that has caught the public’s attention for the last two years. On 12 December 2015, the bodies of celebrated Mumbai-based artist Hema Upadhyay and her lawyer Haresh Bhambani were found stuffed in cardboard boxes in a drain in Kandivali. From this point a story packed with contract killers took shape. It threw light on Hema’s failed marriage, and a murder charge against her artist husband, Chintan Upadhyay.

The case promises to be a long-drawn trial and investigation, with a primary chargesheet that runs into more than 2,000 pages, 30 witnesses, an absconding prime accused, and a husband who is indignant about his innocence. Here’s a lowdown on the case until now.

Who are Hema and Chintan Upadhyay, and Haresh Bhambani?

Hema Upadhyay (1998-2015) was a Mumbai-based artist specialising in photography and cultural installations. She had several exhibitions in India, and abroad including Paris, Italy, Japan, USA and China. She received the Gujarat Lalit Kala Academy and the National Lalit Kala Academy award for her work in the 10th International Triennale-India. She was a much loved personality in Mumbai’s art circuit, known for her personalised gestures and generosity.

Artist Hema Upadhyay sits in front of one of her installations in Mumbai. (Photo Courtesy: Facebook)

She met her future husband and fellow artist Chintan Upadhyay in 1992. He started off as a painter and then moved to sculptures and installations. He remains a widely-respected artist, his work having been exhibited more widely in India than abroad. He was awarded UK’s prestigious Charles Wallace Trust Award in 2012 for his art.

The couple married in 1998, and settled in Mumbai. They lived and worked together for several years before filing for a divorce in 2010, after which they lived in separate rooms of their Mumbai flat in upmarket Juhu, which they both bought together. Chintan also spent close to Rs 25 lakhs on a studio for Hema in Andheri West.

In 2013, Hema filed a harassment case against Chintan for drawing obscene sketches of her on the walls of their apartment. Haresh Bhambani was her lawyer for this case. She lost when the case ruled the bedroom as Chintan’s personal space. Their divorce was completed in 2014, after which Chintan moved to Delhi.

Haresh Bhambani with his family at a function. (Photo Courtesy: Puja Changoiwala)

Bhambani then took on as Hema’s lawyer in the alimony proceedings. Hema wanted Rs 200,000 per month. The court brought it down to Rs 40,000 per month. On the day of their murders, Chintan had paid Bhambani Rs 200,000 in lump sum as alimony.

Who Are the Accused?

1. Vidyadhar Rajbhar: Main accused alleged to have planned the murders and strangled Hema. The owner of Vanshraj Arts, he would do art fabrication work for Hema. She also stored her artwork at his warehouse. Vidyadhar was close to Chintan Upadhyay’s family. In fact, his father named him after Chintan’s father. Chintan also footed Vidyadhar’s father’s medical expenses up to Rs 5 lakhs.

2. Vijay Rajbhar: Tempo driver who dumped the bodies in the drain.

3. Pradeep Rajbhar: Killed Haresh Bhambani. He also lured Hema with "evidence" of her estranged husband Chintan sleeping with girls and offered her a proposition to buy these clips for two lakh rupees.

4. Shivkumar Rajbhar: Killed Haresh Bhambani.

5. Azad Rajbhar: Cousin of Vidyadhar who came down to Mumbai from UP in 2015 on his invitation to work with him at his workshop in 2015. He is being tried as a minor on account of being 16 when the murders took place.

6. Chintan Upadhyay: The police believe the estranged husband ordered the killing of his wife and her lawyer, owing to a long, messy, ugly and expensive legal and personal battle with her during their marriage and after the divorce. He is still pleading guilty, two years into imprisonment.

Artist Chintan Upadhyay. (Photo Courtesy: Pooja Changoiwala) 

They are all booked under IPC sections 302 (murder), 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of offence, or giving false information to screen offender) and 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention).

What Has Happened in the Investigation & Trial So Far?

Also Read: Hema Upadhyay Murder: Family Claims Chintan Is Influencing Probe

Where is the Main Accused, Vidyadhar Rajbhar?

The clinching evidence of the Hema Upadhyay-Haresh Bhambani case is Vidyadhar Rajbhar alias Gotu. After all, he is the one who allegedly called the hits. Still, two years since the murders, the man is on the run and is seemingly always one step ahead of the police.

The artist community is huge, and there are about 62 to 69 artists who are supporting Chintan, and believe that he is innocent. We suspect that some of them are helping Rajbhar while he is on the run. How can an escapee survive his run without money? Maybe they are helping him. The police suspect he has fled to Nepal or Bangladesh. How will Rajbhar, a slum dweller, know his way outside the country? We suspect that Chintan’s artist supporters have sent him abroad. They are financially well-off. Also, we suspect that they’re feeding information to him about the police’s moves.

Sancu Menon, a family friend of Hema’s

Vidyadhar, after killing Hema and Bhambhani, took a train to Varanasi from Dadar around 9.30 PM on 11 December along with the arrested accused Shivkumar Rajbhar. After reaching Itarsi, Madhya Pradesh, Vidyadhar tells Shivkumar that he wants to surrender to the police and gets off the train. His phone was last traceable on 13 December 2015.

Then, on 2 February 2016, his phone was traced when he called a cousin in Surat from Chennai. The police rushed to Chennai, but he was nowhere to be found. Eight days later, on 10 February, his phone was traced to Guwahati, Assam after which the trail went cold.

On 13 September last year, the police even set up an elaborate trap, complete with personnel in plainclothes . It was Vidyadhar’s daughter’s first birthday, and the police made an educated guess that he would show up; especially since his family had sold off a room in their house for Rs 35 lakh. But he did not make an appearance.

As far as his whereabouts are concerned, the police is going with a sweeping range of guesses. He could be anywhere from Nepal to Bangladesh, in Tamil Nadu or he may have possibly taken his own life.