Kritika Chaudhary, the 28-year-old small time actor, who was found murdered at her Andheri home last month, was killed over Rs 6,000 that she allegedly owed to a local drug dealer, revealed the Mumbai police. Almost a month after a partially-dressed Chaudhary was discovered dead under mysterious circumstances in her apartment, investigators, on Monday, announced the arrest of two men in connection with the crime.
According to sources, the two accused, identified as Shakeel Naseem Khan, 33, a resident of Nalasopara, and Badshah Basudas Makmalal, 40, a resident of Govandi, were captured on the CCTV footage of the actor’s building in Bhairavnath Housing Society in the Four Bungalows area of Andheri (West). The security guard at the building had also informed the Amboli police that the accused were the last to have visited Chaudhary, two to three days before her partially decomposed body was discovered.
Chaudhary had purchased drugs from Khan a year ago, and did not pay him. On the night she was murdered, the two had visited Choudhary’s apartment to collect the money she owed them. However, the argument escalated and in a fit of rage, the accused hit Kritika with a knuckle duster, and left her bleeding. They put the apartment’s air conditioner so that it would suppress the smell, and delay the discovery of her corpse.Mumbai police official
The police said that one of the accused left his blood-stained shirt at the crime scene, which also helped investigators zero in on the accused. After the murder, the accused duo fled their homes, and was staying in the Malwani area of Malad (West) before moving to Panvel. One of the accused was subsequently picked up from Panvel. The two were produced a magistrate’s court on Monday, and have been remanded in police custody for a week for further investigations.
According to the police, the victim knew Khan for one and a half years before she was murdered, and allegedly purchased drugs like MDMA and meow meow from him.
A year ago, Khan was arrested in a drug peddling case. He used to work for a major drug peddler, who was also arrested by the Mumbai police’s Anti-Narcotics Cell earlier.
Meanwhile, Deepak Chaudhary, Kritika’s 25-year-old brother told The Quint that police informed him about the arrests on Monday noon, and that the motive of Rs 6,000 had come as a shock to the family.
I don’t think that Rs 6,000 is a provocation big enough to lead to murder. No one in our family believes it. And Kritika had Rs 22,000 in cash in her purse when she was murdered. The police handed that cash to us only a few days ago. Had it been about the money, she could have instantly given it to them. Why wouldn’t she? And would they murder her over such a small amount?Deepak, Kritika’s brother
Deepak, a Haridwar resident, added that he suspects that the murder was perhaps motivated by some other reason.
Investigators said that the accused, after killing Chaudhary, also robbed her of the jewellery on her person. Deepak, while speaking to The Quint earlier, had stated that robbery could be the motive behind the crime since jewellery worth Rs 2.5 lakh to Rs 3 lakh was missing from her body when it was discovered.
My sister was fond of jewellery and would regularly wear bangles, a gold chain, five or six rings, and a bracelet, collectively worth Rs 2.5 lakh to Rs 3 lakh. When I reached Mumbai after we learnt about her death, I inquired with the cops about these belongings, but they stated that Kritika was found without any jewellery on her person. I suggested that the crime might be motivated by an intention to rob, but they haven’t included the robbery charge in the First Information Report (FIR).Deepak
Two men have been arrested in connection with actor Kritika Chaudhary’s murder.Paramjit Dahiya, Zonal Deputy Commissioner of Police
Speaking about her drug habit, a former friend of Chaudhary had earlier told The Quint that the actor’s addiction would often get out of hand, and that she would call a person, who would deliver the drugs to her apartment.
Once, under the influence of drugs, she climbed atop her building at Veera Desai Road in Andheri (West), and threatened to commit suicide. The security guard knew that I visited her often, and called me up, saying that Kritika was completely inebriated and uncontrollable. Even the cops arrived at the building. I wasn’t in Mumbai then, and quickly asked my brother to rush to the spot. He brought her down, and took her to her apartment. The landlord then asked her to vacate the flat, and she had to move elsewhere.Kritika’s friend who does not wished to be named
At around 3.45 pm on June 12, the Mumbai police’s control room received a call from residents of Chaudhary’s building, complaining about the stench from her apartment. When the police reached the apartment, they found it locked from outside. After they broke the door open, Chaudhary’s partially decomposed body was discovered on the floor. The Amboli police, who had initially recorded an accidental death report, registered a murder case after her post mortem reports arrived, revealing injuries to her head.
Chaudhary, originally from Haridwar, came to Mumbai seven to eight years ago to make a career in the film industry. She featured in the Kangana Ranaut-starrer Rajjo, and had also appeared on a few television shows, including a Balaji creation, and another crime show. However, Choudhary’s career had failed to take the flight she had expected it to. She was living alone in a one-bedroom apartment in the Amboli area of western Mumbai.
Also read: Kritika Was an Addict, Attempted Suicide Earlier, Says Ex-Friend
(Puja Changoiwala is a journalist, and author of the critically-acclaimed true crime book, ‘The Front Page Murders.’)
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