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

Murdered artist Hema Upadhyay's mother tells mid-day about the last call she got from her daughter, as well as the strained marriage between Hema and Chintan

Just before artist Hema Upadhyay was killed, she had called her mother to tell her she was going to meet someone she knew. Devastated by Hema’s gruesome murder, her mother, Beena Manubhai Hirani, isn’t sure who is to blame — Hema’s husband, Chintan, or Vidyadhar Rajbhar (aka Gotu), the art fabricator who had worked with her in the past. “Whether it is Chintan or Gotu, whoever killed my daughter must be punished. I have full faith in the judiciary,” she said.

Hema Upadhyay’s mother Beena Manubhai Hirani said the family began looking for when she failed to get in touch with them for an entire day. Pic/Sayyed Sameer Abedi

Beena is sure it was someone Hema knew well. “On December 11, the day Hema was killed, she had called me around 6.23 pm to inform me that she was going to meet a known person. She told me she would call again at 1 pm the next day,” said the 72-year-old.

Hema Upadhyay

But when Hema failed to get in touch the next day, the family began to look for her, only to hear the shocking news of her murder. “I could not believe what I heard. Hema was a very loving daughter; she used to call me every day to check on my health. I cannot believe that she is no more. Maaru toh baddhu lutai gayu (I have lost everything in my life),” said an inconsolable Beena.

Marital discord
Beena said there had been constant fights between Hema and Chintan, but she never imagined that it might one day snatch her daughter from her.

Hema and Chintan had met at the Maharaja Sayajirao University, and fell in love. They got married on October 31, 1998 in Jaipur. At first, they lived in a tiny flat in Borivli and had to face several hardships as they struggled to make it big as artists. Through it all, they remained deeply in love. The problems began when they moved into their Juhu flat.

“Hema had complained about Chintan to me for the first time in 2006. I thought it was an ordinary fight and told her not to bring it up before her father, as he was unwell and doctors had said he would not live long,” she said.

Hema’s father, Manubhai, passed away on September 5, 2006, but Hema and Chintan’s arguments only grew worse. There were frequent spats between the two even after they got divorced, said Beena.

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