The bodies of well-known painter and installation artist Hema Upadhyay and her lawyer Harish Bhambhani have been found packed inside cardboard boxes lying near a drain in suburban Mumbai, the police said on Sunday. The duo had been reported missing since Friday.
The bodies of Hema, 43, and the 65-year-old lawyer, were recovered on Saturday evening close to a drain in suburban Kandivali, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Detection) Dhananjay Kulkarni said. The bodies were packed tightly in cardboard boxes and were dumped in a drain in the Kandivali suburbs. Vikram Deshmane, a senior police officer is quoted as saying, “It is a clear case of murder. We will find out the cause of injuries only after the post-mortem report comes out,” said senior Mumbai police officer Vikram Deshmane.
A case of murder has been registered against unknown persons and bodies sent for post-mortem examination, said Chimaji Aadhav, senior inspector of Unit 11 of the Mumbai crime branch.
The bodies were recovered Saturday evening and identified, sources said. The bodies were first spotted by local sweepers who thought there was something wrong. According to Zee News, a police officer involved in the probe has said that the bodies were found in a “semi-naked” condition.
DNA reported that Bhambani’s hands were tied and his mouth was gagged with a cloth and had cello tape, while Hema’s was just wrapped in a plastic sheet. NDTV reported that the bodies bore injuries with the hands and feet tied up.
According to The Hindu, doctors who conducted the preliminary examination of the bodies are of the opinion that death occurred three to four hours before the bodies were found.
Mid Day reported that the truck driver who drove the alleged killers and bodies from the warehouse to the spot where the bodies were disposed off had tipped the police off, after noticing the story in newspapers. The driver said that the killers has said that they wanted to get rid of waste.
Mid Day reported that one of the main suspects is Gotu, owner of a Charkop warehouse where Hema used to store her works. According to Mid Day, it could be about a dispute of Rs five lakh between the two. The paper also confirmed that the artist’s and lawyers’ last known cellphone locations were at the towers between Charkop and the Kandivali godown. The phones were switched off at 8.30 pm.
DNA reported that a metal fabrication artist, Rajbhar could also be involved and the police are on the look-out for him. Rajbhar supposedly called Hema about her divorce case, saying that he had strong evidence against Chintan, her husband.
The Vadodara-born artist was estranged from her husband Chintan, also an artist, and the couple had filed for divorce. According to NDTV, the Mumbai Police is questioning Chintan against whom she had filed a harassment case and her domestic helpers. Bhambani, 65, was representing her in the case.
In 2013, Hema filed a harassment case against Chintan, alleging he painted obscene pictures of women on the walls of their matrimonial home in Mumbai. Bhambani had appeared for her in the case. The Hindu reports that the divorce was filled with bitter allegations and counter-allegations and quotes Niteen Pradhan (Chintan’s advocate) saying that Hema had filed an application seeking alimony, the hearing for which was scheduled next year.