19 December,2015 07:48 AM IST | | Samiullah Khan
Police are hopeful that Vidyadhar Rajbhar, alias Gotu, the main accused in Hema Upadhyay's murder will surrender soon, keeping fingers crossed that he won't end his life thanks to the media hype
The three accused in the murder of artist Hema Upadhyay, whose lifeless body was found in a Kandivli nullah on December 11 along with her lawyer, Haresh Bhambhani's, have been sent to police custody till December 22.
Hema Upadhyay
The accused, Pradeep Rajbhar, Vijay Rajbhar and Azad Rajbhar were produced in court along with Shivkumar Rajbhar, the fourth accused who was nabbed from Uttar Pradesh, on Saturday. The two bodies were found with their hands tied and placed in cardboard boxes.
The accused in court
According to the police, the accused together with main accused Vidyadhar Rajbhar (Gotu), the owner of the warehouse where Hema and Haresh were killed, had smothered the two with chloroform before striking them.
Gotu had confessed his crime to his neighbour in a call, saying he killed Hema in a fit of rage after she refused to pay him the Rs 5 lakh she owed him, and slapped him.
In court yesterday, the prosecution lawyer said that the police had recovered the tempo that was used to ferry the bodies, as well as Haresh's Honda City. After Hema's brother claimed that Hema was wearing diamond rings when she was killed, the police have added section 396 (robbery) of IPC.
While the DNA test of the accused is yet to be done, the police have collected forensic evidence from the vehicles and sent them for testing. The prosecution has asked for police custody of the three accused since its still in search of Gotu.
A police source said, "We are expecting that within a day or two, Gotu will surrender. But we are also afraid that since the case has been publicised so much, he may commit suicide."
