2015 double murder case: Artist Chintan Upadhyay found guilty of conspiracy, abetment | Mumbai News – Times of India

MUMBAI: A trial court judge at Dindoshi on Thursday held artist Chintan Upadhyay guilty of conspiring and abetting the 2015 double murder of his estranged wife Hema Upadhyay and her lawyer Haresh Bhambani. Three others too were found guilty of the murder charge. The sessions court will hear arguments on sentencing on Saturday. The special public prosecutor, Vaibhav Bagade, is set to push for the highest penalty, which is the death sentence.
The judge on September 1 had concluded the long-drawn trial and reserved his judgment.
On December 12, 2015, the bodies of Hema and Bhambhani, stuffed in boxes, were recovered from a nullah in Kandivli.
The trial in the case commenced in August 2019. Hema’s estranged husband Chintan along with Pradeep Rajbhar, Shivkumar Rajbhar and Vijay Rajbhar have faced trial for the murders.
Following the deposition of witnesses, the court extensively reviewed the final arguments presented by both the special public prosecutor Vaibhav Bagade and the defense counsel which included Raja Thakare, Bharat Manghani, Anil Jadav, and others.
The court had set it for dictation for about two weeks noting the considerable “volume of evidence, articles, citations relied on by parties.”
Chintan is the main accused who held a meeting in Chembur with another accused and a wanted suspect, Vidyadhar Rajbhar, a fabricator, the prosecutor had said, stating his motive was a matrimonial dispute.
Chintan’s defense counsel, Raja Thakare, contended that the prosecution deliberately manufactured evidence whenever possible to frame his client. He further argued that the prosecution’s assertion regarding the absconding accused Vidhyadhar Rajbhar confessing to his mother about committing the murders at Chintan’s instruction is highly implausible.
Vidyadhar is still absconding.
It was the prosecution’s case that the extra-judicial confession was allegedly given by Vidyadhar to his mother over the phone where he is alleged to have spoken about committing the killings at Chintan’s behest. Thakare said in the normal course of action, one tries to hide such things from their mother, but here the accused called her and narrated the incident, with police showing no proof of her receiving a call from Vidyadhar’s number.
Bagade had argued that Hema was apprehensive that her estranged husband was going to create a big problem for her. His submissions had been that Chintan “principally hatched the conspiracy to kill both Hema and Bhambhani, since he hated them,” and “used his acquaintances to carry out the actual murder”.
Watch Chintan Upadhyay found guilty of abetting murders of Hema Upadhyay, Haresh Bhambhani: Everything you need to know