Family members and friends of Hema Upadhyay and her lawyer Harish Bhambhani, who were found murdered in December last year, said here on Thursday that they didn’t want the Ghatkopar Crime Branch to investigate the case.
Speaking to presspersons, the families said the Kandivli police were doing a good job, and questioned why it was transferred to the Ghatkopar Crime Branch. They said they will move the Bombay High Court on Monday, demanding that the case be transferred to an agency that the court deems fit. “It could be the CBI or SIT, whatever the court deems fit,” said Sanchu Menon, a friend of Hema.
They said the Kandivali police would have tracked Vidyadhar Rajbhar, who has been absconding since the day of the crime, and is alleged to have murdered the duo, had it not been transferred. They also questioned why friends of Hema’s estranged husband Chintan Upadhyay, who is the key accused in the case and behind bars, are visiting the Ghatkopar police station every day.
Mr. Bhambhani’s family alleged that the only person to have benefited from the deaths was Chintan, who stands to become the sole owner of the properties he had jointly held with her. They said that he had a motive to kill Hema as it would save him from paying alimony and that he grudged the court’s directive prohibiting him from re-marrying until his case with Hema reached a sound conclusion. Mr. Bhambhani’s family also said that he lost his life while doing his job and that his death was a blow to his family.
