File photo of artist Hema Upadhyay and her husband Chintan Upadhyay.
Slain artist Hema Upadhyay's husband Chintan, who has been under the police scanner since the double murder came to light, said that although they were estranged, he still loved his wife, and that they had no problems.
Whatever financial disputes they had during the divorce proceedings were also amicably settled, he said. "When we had filed for divorce, there would sometimes be a dispute over the Juhu flat. Hema had demanded several times that she get the flat, but I never refused her. I always told her that we should sell the flat and divide the money equally," Chintan told the Crime Branch officials.
He said that while he lived in Delhi, whenever he came to Mumbai, he would spend time at Hema's home. "We did not have problems with each other. Many times, she asked me for money, and I always helped her. Even on the day they went missing, I paid Rs 2 lakh to her lawyer, Harish Bhambhani, as per the court order on alimony," added the artist husband.
The police have also been scrutinising his connection with the main accused in the case, Vidyadhar Rajbhar, who runs the art godown where Hema and Harish were killed. Asked about this, Chintan told cops that his bond with the warehouse goes way back in the past, when both he and Hema were starting out as artists.
"At the time, Vidyadhar's father was running the godown, and he had really helped us. We owe him a lot; the position we found as artists was because he helped us," said Chintan. He said that when Vidyadhar's father, Vansh Rajbhar passed away in 2013, he had even paid Rs 5 lakh for the last rites. "I never asked for that money to be returned. I know Vidyadhar and all his workers. Just 10 days ago, I had spoken to him regarding some artwork," he added.