Charge sheet in Kirti Vyas murder likely this week

Her colleagues at salon in Andheri have been held in the case

No headway: Police officials use drones to search for the remains of Kriti Vyas (below) in Mahul Creek.

The charge sheet in connection with the murder of salon executive Kirti Vyas is expected to be filed this week, Mumbai Police Crime Branch officials have said.

Kirti (28), a resident of Grant Road, used to work with Bblunt salon in Andheri and went missing on the morning of May 28. A Missing Person Complaint was registered with DB Marg police and the case was transferred to the Crime Branch after her family complained of zero progress in the case.

Seven weeks after her disappearance, the Crime Branch’s Unit II arrested her colleagues Siddhesh Tamhankar and Khushi Sahjwani in connection with the murder.

Sources said that the charge sheet against both the accused, who have been charged with murder, destruction of evidence and criminal conspiracy under the Indian Penal Code, will be filed before the end of the week. “The charge sheet is currently being reviewed by senior officers before it is filed. We should be submitting it in court by Thursday or Friday at the latest,” a Crime Branch officer said.

Sources said that the Commissioner of Police Subodh Kumar Jaiswal had instructed the Crime Branch to show him the charge sheet before it is filed. Investigating officers said that DNA comparison reports from the forensic sciences laboratory in Kalina is the key evidence against the accused. The Crime Branch had found bloodstains in the boot of Ms. Sahjwani’s car and had sent them for comparison with DNA samples taken from Kirti’s parents. The results showed that the blood belonged to a female offspring of the Vyas couple.

Conclusive evidence

The officer said, “The Vyases had two daughters. The conclusive nature of the report will be a big boost to our case. It will be the accused’s burden to explain how Kirti’s blood was found in Ms. Sahjwani’s car.”

The DNA comparison report is also backed by circumstantial evidence such as CCTV footage which shows Kirti getting into Ms Sahjwani’s car on the morning of her disappearance. The footage shows the car’s movement from Grant Road to Ms. Sahjwani’s Andheri residence, and later from there to Mahul, where Kirti’s body was dumped. The police also have Call Detail Records mapping the location of the accused and showing Kirti in their company when the murder was committed.

The officer said, “We have recorded statements from several witnesses in the case, including family members and colleagues who said the accused did not offer to pick up or drop her before the day of the murder. Mr. Tamhankar also tried to mislead them while the search was on by feeding false information about Kirti being seen in various parts of the city. We have also obtained details of the notice that Kirti, who was Mr. Tamhankar’s superior, had issued to him due to his poor performance at work.”

The search for Kirti’s mortal remains continues. The police have used dummies and high-tech drones to search for the body in Mahul Creek for over a month.