Double murder: Cops consider narco test for clues from Chintan

Even a week after his arrest in connection with the murder of his estranged wife Hema Upadhyay and her lawyer, artist Chintan remains a tough nut to crack, said sources in Mumbai Police, which is now considering another method to get answers - brain mapping and narco analysis test.

Also read: Without Vidyadhar, cops have nothing on Chintan Upadhyay

The lawyer representing the family of slain artist Hema, Vinod Gangwal (in white), questioned why the tempo driver drove the extra distance to the Kandivli drain to dump the bodies if he wasn't aware of what they were

While prime accused Vidyadhar Rajbhar is still absconding, four of the arrested accused - Vijay Rajbhar, Pradip Rajbhar, Azad Rajbhar and Shivkumar Rajbhar - were yesterday sent to judicial custody for 14 days by a Borivli court. However, Chintan's custody ends on January 1, and as mid-day had reported yesterday, the cops seem to have hit a dead end in the probe, with Chintan steadily denying all allegations against him.

Also read: Just before murder, Hema told her mum she was going to meet an acquaintance

Chintan Upadhyay

"We are not satisfied with the answers Chintan has given to various questions, like when was the last time he met prime accused Vidyadhar, what transactions took place between them, etc," said an official from Kandivli police station. "Chintan is not co-operating in the investigation and is trying to mislead the officers. That is why we have decided to apply to the court, seeking permission to conduct brain-mapping and narco analysis test on him," he added.

Also read: Mumbai double murder - We fear Vidyadhar Rajbhar is dead, says family

Questions raised
In the meanwhile, the lawyer representing the family of slain artist Hema, Vinod Gangwal visited the crime scenes - both the murder site and the spot where the bodies were dumped - and brought several points to the police's notice. He pointed out, for instance, that the bodies were dumped in a Kandivli drain, even though there was another drain closer to the Lalji Pada warehouse where Hema and her lawyer were killed. According to the lawyer, this indicates that the tempo driver (arrested accused Vijay) knew he was ferrying bodies in the cardboard boxes and wanted to put some distance between the murder site and the dumping spot.

Gangwal also visited the warehouse where the double murder took place, and concluded that it was unlikely that no one had heard the victims screaming during the struggle. He also suggested that there may be eyewitnesses who saw the culprits loading the bodies onto the tempo.