Kriti Vyas murder: Accused, Siddhesh Tamhankar alleges harassment by cops

Kirti Vyas (second from right) and the two accused Siddhesh Tamhankar and Khushi Sahjwani (second and third from left) with other colleagues

Siddhesh (Tamhankar) was so frustrated and feeling so harassed by the repeated and accusatory questioning by crime branch officers, that at one point he said to them "Take out your revolver and shoot me, but I have done nothing". This is what friends of the accused, a Bhoiwada resident, mid-day spoke to said yesterday.

Some also said he was so fed up with the frequent calls to be present for inquiry and tired of the same questions thrown at him again and again, that he just wanted to be done with it and even said to investigators that he was ready to sign on a blank paper on which they could write whatever they pleased. All the friends are unanimous in one thing though. Staunchly refusing to believe that he could have killed another person, they have described their friend as someone "who wouldn't even hurt a fly".

Recollecting their carefree days in the neighbourhood they stay in, Tamhankar's friends said he was a cheerful and helpful guy, just wanting to have a good time with his group, celebrating all festivals with gusto and being there for anyone in need. A friend told mid-day about the time investigators called Tamhankar and Khushi Sahjwani, co-accused, to recreate the scene from the day Vyas went missing. "They made her sit in the front seat where Kirti was sitting that day and asked the two to show them how they dragged her body into the boot from there. They told the police that they didn't know how to make the backseat lie flat; so then, a constable came and showed how it's done."

Another friend said that after every questioning session, a harried Tamhankar would come to them and say "I am innocent; I don't know why they are harassing me". "One day, we were all strolling in a garden when a police patrol jeep passed by. Siddhesh laughed bitterly and said 'Police seem to be following me everywhere. Looks like, they will take me for questioning again'," the friend added.

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