Hema Upadhyay Murder Case: Chintan Sent to Police Custody

Hema Upadhyay’s estranged husband Chintan was arrested by the Mumbai Police in connection with her murder.

Hema Upadhyay’s cousin says the family is sure her ex-husband Chintan is behind the murder. (The photo has been altered by The Quint/Hema’s photo by Anne Maniglier)

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Chintan Upadhyay has been sent to police custody till 1 January. Rest of the accused have been sent to police custody till 28 December.

Updated at:22nd Dec, 2015 at 2:15 PM

Mumbai artist Hema Upadhyay’s estranged husband Chintan Upadhyay has been produced in the Borivali court. He had been arrested earlier this morning by Mumbai Police in connection with the murder of the artist and her lawyer Harish Bhambani.

Updated at:22nd Dec, 2015 at 2:06 PM

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The arrest came after Chintan was called in for another round of questioning by Mumbai Police late last night.

Additional CP (North) Fatesingh Patil said, a combination of fresh evidence found and inconsistencies in Chintan’s statements led to his arrest. He will be produced in court later today.

Mumbai artist Hema Upadhyay (43), who was found murdered last weekend along with her lawyer Harish Bhambhani (65), had received a call hours before she was killed, warning of a threat to her life, police sources told The Indian Express. The call was allegedly made by a person working in the studio of the absconding accused Vidyadhar Rajbhar, sources said.

Less than a fortnight before artist Hema and Harish were murdered, her estranged husband Chintan Upadhyay allegedly met Vidyadhar in Jaipur at the house of Chintan’s parents as The Quint reported earlier.

Statements from Hema’s relatives claim that Chintan was grilled by various officers for days over the double murder case.

Anita Bhambhani, the daughter of Hema’s lawyer, has told the police that her father and his client were scheduled to meet Chintan’s servant who had claimed to have video clips of his employer with three women.

Hema and Chintan were engaged in a legal tussle over various issues, including their divorce that had been granted by a family court.

The custody of accused Azad Rajbhar, Pradeep Rajbhar and Vijay Rajbhar, ends today. Shivkumar Rajbhar alias Sadhu, will still remain under custody after being arrested in Varanasi.

(With PTI inputs)

Also on The Quint: Chintan Had Been Harassing Hema for a Decade Now: Hema’s Cousin

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Updated at:22nd Dec, 2015 at 2:04 PM