An alarming double murder of a prominent artist and her lawyer who were found dead in a Mumbai sewer has triggered a manhunt across India. Bodies of Hema Upadhyay, 43, and Harish Bhambhani, 65, were discovered in a cardboard box on the 13th of December.
Four suspects have been arrested in Mumbai after a huge police operation was launched. Two men were also seized almost 1,000 miles away Varanasi, with personal items belonging to the victims on them. One of them was found with 20 debit cards. “Some of them belong to Hema and Harish. He will now be handed over to the Mumbai police,” Sujay Pandey, an Uttar Pradesh police officer said. Bodies of the victims were discovered when a street cleaner saw a leg protruding from a cardboard box in the drain. They were stripped to their underwear and their bodies were wrapped in plastic. Bhambhani's eyes were covered with tape and his face appeared to be severely beaten. In a joint operation, the UP special task force (STF) and the Mumbai police picked up Shivkumar `Sadhu' Rajbhar (25) from Varanasi. This is the fourth detention, though the prime accused, Vidyadhar Rajbhar, who owns a warehouse in Laljipada in Kandivli (West), is yet to be nabbed. “Sadhu said Vidyadhar claimed that Hema was not clearing his dues for months and he met her a couple of times to demand Rs 5 lakh, in vain,” an STF official said.
India's arts community has reacted with horror to the killings. Upadhyay's work, which explored Indian attitudes towards women and the city, including a recreation of a Mumbai slum, have been widely appreciated. Archana Hande, a fellow artist and a friend of Upadhyay since art school said, “She was a wonderful artist and friend. She was cheerful and enthusiastic. This kind of brutality, I have no words for it.” The Vadehra Art Gallery in Mumbai, which represents the deceased, issued a statement lamenting the loss of “one of the most talented Indian artists, and a dear and loving friend.”
Police have also questioned the artist's estranged husband, Chintan Upadhyay, a fellow artist who flew from Delhi to Mumbai after learning of her death. He was released without charge after questioning. The two have been stuck in a bitter divorce battle since 2010. She had taken legal action for harassment in 2013, after claiming that her husband had painted graphic images of women on the ceilings of their home, losing the lawsuit. Local reports suggest that the investigation is now focused on the owner of a warehouse where Upadhyay stored her work and a possible dispute about money. The artist was reported missing by her domestic servant, Lalit Mandal, after she failed to return home.
