I was in Baroda, my college town, on the morning of December 13 when friends called and gave the sad news of Hema’s demise and the shocking fact that it was a murder.
Baroda. The same town where Hema, Chintan and I were batchmates at the Faculty of Fine Arts 20 years ago.
I wept a little for Hema, only 42, so talented, with a potentially fantastic life ahead and hoped she did not suffer too much, hoped at least the end was quick.
And then I wept for Chintan – thinking how devastated he must be at the news. It did not occur to me for a second to think of him as a suspect, despite knowing about their split, despite hearing her lawyer was also murdered with her.
The gut is a strange thing, it believes even when “facts” refute it. When a friend from the art fraternity said, “It’s over, Chintan has confessed”, I had trouble believing it and he sent me a newspaper report: “The police’s surprise move of arresting Chintan Upadhyay yesterday came after the artist confessed that he had plotted the murder of his estranged wife…”
I called other friends who were sitting outside the police station day and night for Chintan and they said they have no idea where this news was coming from.
Two days ago more, different “facts” came out:
a Mumbai Mirror report“Chintan, who has not confessed to the crime, was on Monday remanded in judicial custody till January 11...Another officer involved in the investigation said that Chintan had pleaded innocence throughout his questioning.
What are “facts”? How can newspapers constantly publish contradictory statements with no responsibility?
The smaller “facts” keep changing, getting contradicted and distorted to the point of absurdity – drawings done years ago that show blood (in support of an anti-menstruation-taboo campaign) are being associated with this; crates in his studio are being called coffins; nude drawings are being scrutinised under the lens of “bad guy”…it is difficult to know the truth.
How can justice be done in a murder case by assassination of character without proof?
His close friends are trying their best to put out the things they know as fact, as the newspapers seem to have “other” sources.
These are read by the art-fraternity but not the public at large, who can only consume the news they are fed.
Chintan is, naturally, a suspect as any man whose estranged wife and lawyer get murdered would be – but innocent until proven guilty and not guilty until proven innocent.
If he is guilty, we need concrete evidence, not mutated and fictional stories put out by irresponsible media.
We need the thrust to be put in finding the absconding main accused, Vidyadhar; we need irrefutable facts and above all, justice.
I was not there; I do not know the truth. The sordid details keep changing, there is no point following them.
What I do know is Chintan is a compassionate, generous and intelligent person. It would mean an extremely stupid and unbelievable out-of-character move for him to commission Hema’s murder.
This is not a Hema vs Chintan case; we want justice for Hema and Chintan.
(Megha Joshi is a contemporary Indian sculptor and installation artist)
Also read:
Chintan Upadhyay: The Self-Confessed “Provocative” Artist
‘Artist: Hema Upadhyay. Medium: Soulful. Year: 2015’
Mumbai Double Murder: Friends Defend Chintan Updhyay on Facebook
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