Police suspects that Chintan Upadhyay could not have plotted the murder on his own; friends are being questioned to find clues about the person who nudged him into the crime
After contemporary artist Chintan Upadhyay confessed to plotting the murder of his estranged wife, Hema, and her lawyer Harish Bhambhani, further investigations have led police to another suspect. The probe points at the possibility of someone nudging Chintan into committing the crime.
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Police suspect that the accomplice wanted a part in Chintan’s property, including the Juhu flat. File pic
Kandivli police suspect the presence of a seventh suspect in the planning of the crime, who might have told Chintan to get rid of his problems by killing his wife and lawyer. The officers said they tried to interrogate Chintan but he did not co-operate with them after reading media reports.
The officers believe that the person who told Chintan to execute the plan wanted a part in his property, including the Juhu flat. Police have begun questioning all of Chintan’s friends to find out who could have been a part of the murder plan, operating from behind the scenes.
Chintan had earlier told the police that he paid the killers Rs 22 lakh to get rid of his wife and her lawyer, as he was fed up with her increasing alimony demands. He had also said he drew a detailed storyboard to explain to the killers how they should murder Hema and Harish.
One of the four arrested accused, tempo driver Vijay Rajbhar told the police that there was another man in a red shirt, who had escorted him, main accused Vidyadhar Rajbhar, and Pradeep Rajbhar to Chintan but did not join the meeting. The police are now on the look out for that man.
Gotu’s whereabouts
Police yesterday revealed that the main accused Vidyadhar Rajbhar, also known as Gotu, is in touch with his family since he has been calling them using various SIM cards and his last location was Bangalore. Also, Chintan had transferred Rs 5 lakh to his bank account, police said.