Artist Chintan Upadhyay was sent to judicial custody up to January 11 by a Borivali court on Monday. He was arrested on December 28 in connection with the murder of his estranged wife Hema and her lawyer Harish Bhambhani.
Four other accused in the murders — Pradip Rajbhar, Vijay Rajbhar, Shivkumar Rajbhar and Azaad Rajbhar are also currently lodged in judicial custody till January 11. However, the main accused, Vidyadhar Rajhbhar, is still at large.
Metropolitan Magistrate Prasad Kulkarni ordered Chintan to be sent to judicial custody with the other accused.
The lawyer appearing for Chintan informed the court that he was suffering from severe back pain and that reports by an orthopaedic should be allowed to be put on record. The advocate had earlier asked whether home-cooked food can be given to Chintan. On Monday he pleaded for a separate cell for him in jail. Both the requests have been rejected.
Investigating officer Sudhir Dalvi told reporters outside the court that many sketches had been recovered from Chintan’s residence. Mentioning a sketch titled Mumma Blood, he said many similar sketches had been found. The officer said there was need to do brain mapping and narco analysis test on Chintan.
Mr Dalvi said the cause of Hema and Bhambhani’s death is still unknown as forensic and chemical analysts reports haven’t arrived. He also said that it has not been confirmed that the chemical used in the attack on Hema and Bhambhani was cholorform. The bodies of Hema and her lawyer were found in Kandivali on December 12.
‘Sketches had nothing to do with murder’
Artist Chintan Upadhyay drew many sketches as a part of a series called ‘Gandi Baat’. An artist friend of Hema and Chintan said: “Chintan took up issues that were a taboo in our society and highlighted them through his paintings. Mumma Blood was also a part of it as it showcased menstruation. It was on the lines of the ‘Happy to Bleed’ campaign. This has been used and interpreted by the police as something he drew a day before the murder. This is very dangerous.”
