Hema Upadhyay murder: Man who last called Mumbai artist is prime suspect

Mutilated bodies painter Hema Chintan Upadhyay and her advocate Harish Bhambhani were found dumped in a Kandivali drain on Saturday evening.

Mumbai Police is looking for a person named Rajbhar, who is said to be the last person artist Hema Upadhyay had spoken to before going mysteriously disappearing on Friday evening. The police is also on the lookout for a metal fabrication artist in the sensational double murder case.

Mutilated bodies painter Hema Chintan Upadhyay and her advocate Harish Bhambhani were found dumped in a Kandivali drain on Saturday evening.

Police said Hema and her advocate's last known mobile phone locations were between Charkop and Kandivli, where the bodies were found. Both phones were switched off at 8.30 pm on Friday. Hema used to store her works at a godown in Charkop. Reports say that a man named Gotu, who is the owner of the Charkop godown is the prime suspect in the case.  

According to sources, Hema and Gotu had dispute over Rs 5 lakh and this could be the motive behind the artist's murder.

Three persons, including Hema's husband Chintan Upadhyay, were detained and quizzed by the police on Sunday. Hema was going through divorce battle with her artist husband Chintan Upadhyay since 2010.

Chintan was quizzed all day Sunday. He told the police that he hadn't spoken to her recently. Bhambhani was representing Hema in a complaint of harassment she had filed against Chintan in 2013 for painting obscene sketches on the walls of their Juhu flat.