Hema Upadhyay Murder: ‘Forced’ Confession of Accused Made Public

The confession of an accused has been made public in a sessions court proceedings with details of the murder.

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)

Pradeep Rajbhar, an accused in the Hema Upadhyay - Harish Bhambani double murder, confessed in front of a magistrate in March 2016 under Section 164 of the CrPC. However, in June, he claimed in a written statement to a sessions court that his confession was taken under duress. On Monday, 9 August, Rajbhar’s allegedly ‘forced’ confession was produced in Dindoshi sessions court, with startling details of the night of the murder.

Artist Hema Upadhyay was found dead in a drain in Mumbai’s Kandivali. (Photo Courtesy: Twitter)

Also Read: It’s Too Hard to Talk About Her: Friends Remember Hema Upadhyay

What is significant in this investigation is the roping in of Dinesh Kadam as the investigating officer for this case, who holds a questionable track record for fabricating evidence to close his cases, as in the German Bakery bomb blasts investigation and the Sheena Bora murder case. 

The Alleged Confession

• Rajbhar received Rs 1 lakh after the murder from Chintan Upadhyay, Hema Upadhyay’s husband.
  
  
• Chintan made the call to invite Hema to main accused Vidhyadhar Rajbhar’s (currently absconding) warehouse.
  
  
• After the murder, Vidyadhar paid Rs 2,000 To Rajbhar and Rs 1,000 to an accused minor.
  
  
• On 8 December, three days before the murder, Vidhyadhar, along with tempo driver Vijay and Rajbhar, met with Chintan, where he offered them money to kill Hema – to which they agreed.
  

<i>Tum Hema ka kaam kar doge to tumhe bees lakh dunga. </i>(I will pay you Rs 20 lakh if you will do the work involving Hema.)

Chintan Upadhyay’s alleged offer

• Chintan asked Rajbhar to call Hema posing as Mahendra Gupta, a cook at Chintan’s Jaipur house.
  
  
• Vidhyadhar inserted Rajbhar’s SIM card into a phone and called Hema, where Rajbhar – posing as Gupta – told her that he is in possession of a video clip of Chintan with another woman, which he would give to her for Rs 2 lakhs.
  
  
• Hema then asked where she could come and collect the clip, to which she was asked to come to Vidhyadhar’s art studio warehouse.
  
  
• On 11 December, Hema along with her lawyer, reached the warehouse where Vidhyadhar was waiting with two handkerchiefs and a bottle.
  

Vidhyadhar poured something from the bottle on the handkerchief and kept one and gave one to Vijay. I caught hold of Hema madam and Vijay put a handkerchief on her nose, while Shiv Kumar and the accused minor caught hold of that man (Mr Bhambani) and Vidhyadhar placed a handkerchief on his nose.&nbsp;

Excerpt from the alleged confession

• Rajbhar then declared the two of them dead, and Vidhyadhar stuck tape on their bodies.
  
  
• Vidhyadhar also got into a physical altercation with lawyer Bhambani, due to which he suffered some injuries. Hema also came back to consciousness once in between, after being made to inhale the solution.
  

The next date of hearing is on 2 September 2016.