Family of Arpita Tiwary, the 24-year-old anchor who was discovered in a pool of blood under mysterious circumstances in a Malad high-rise on Monday morning, believes that her boyfriend pushed her to death.
Arpita’s family alleged that the emcee was in an abusive relationship with her 30-year-old boyfriend, who, they claimed, would often hit her under the influence of alcohol. Meanwhile, the Malwani police, who had initially suspected Tiwary’s death to be a case of suicide, have registered a case of murder against unidentified persons.
“I never liked her boyfriend. He was a jobless man, who didn’t see any shame in living off his girlfriend’s income. He would go out partying on her expense. Once, when I was with the two of them, they got into a fight. He lost his cool, and struck my sister. Having interacted with him enough, I know he’s someone who flips after consuming alcohol; and I’m certain that he killed my sister. I am absolutely sure that he did it with his friends, who were also present in the apartment that night.”Shweta Tiwary, the deceased’s sister, told The Quint
Arpita’s partially undressed body was discovered dangling from the duct area on the second floor of Manavsthal Heights in the Malwani vicinity of Malad (West) on Monday morning.
According to police, Arpita and her boyfriend, who had been in a relationship for close to five years, had arrived at the 19-storey high-rise around 2.30 am on Monday to visit a mutual friend on the fifteenth floor of the building.
Around an hour later, the couple and their three friends went to sleep. The police said that at 7 am, one of the couple’s friends woke up to use the bathroom, and discovered that Arpita, who was asleep in the apartment’s living room, wasn’t in her bed. The bathroom, meanwhile, was locked from inside.
The friend knocked on the bathroom door once, and upon realising that Arpita might be inside, he decided to wait. However, when she didn’t return for about half an hour, he grew concerned and woke her boyfriend up. The duo then opened the bathroom door with a key.
“When they entered the bathroom, they saw that the glass pane on the window was kept on the floor while Tiwary was missing. Since her phone was still in the apartment, they started looking for her in the building. They also sought help from the building’s management. Between 7.30 and 8 am, the boyfriend and his friend found Tiwary’s body in the second floor duct between two building wings.”An official from the Malwani police
Shweta, however, refutes the police version, insisting that it’s a definite case of murder.
“I visited that apartment later. Everything on the ledge under the window, where they say my sister jumped from, was in order. If she had indeed leapt from that window, wouldn’t the bottles of shampoos and other cosmetics fall off? Or are you saying that she climbed on to the window, neatly arranged the bottles back, and then jumped off? Why would she do that? It makes no sense. It’s obvious that her boyfriend and his friends threw her off that window, and arranged the bottles back to conceal the signs of struggle and destroy evidence.”Shweta Tiwary
Shweta adds that Arpita, a resident of Mira Road, was a successful anchor and emcee. Professionally, she was doing well, and had spoken to her father about her future investments barely a day before she was found dead.
“She had surplus money, which she was looking to invest. She had nothing to be depressed about. On Sunday evening, she had spoken to her friends, and had made plans to meet them. These friends are as shocked as we are. And even if she did commit suicide, why would she take off her pyjamas before jumping to her death? I believe my sister was not only killed, but was sexually assaulted as well. We have asked the police to add relevant charges to the complaint.”Shweta Tiwary
Deepak Phatangare, senior inspector, Malwani police said, “Tiwary’s vaginal swabs have been sent for forensic analysis, and we are also awaiting her post mortem report. We shall have clarity on the rape allegations once these reports arrive. Additional charges will be slapped in accordance.”
According to sources, a team of the Mumbai police and forensic experts visited Manavsthal Heights soon after the alleged crime to reconstruct the series of events, which led to the emcee’s death.
Investigators created a dummy with the approximate height and weight as the deceased. The dummy was then thrown off the fifteenth floor bathroom window twice – on one occasion, it was allowed to collapse after mounting it on the window pane, and on the other, four men forcefully pushed the dummy off the window.
Police sources said that the landing place of the dummy after the second fall was close to the spot where Arpita’s body was found. This, according to sources, was a major indication that the anchor was killed.
“Further, after questioning friends and family, we have learnt that Tiwary was in a stable state of mind in the days preceding her death. She did not even leave a suicide note behind. This, coupled with other pieces of circumstantial evidence, helped us rule out the possibility of suicide,” said the source, adding that the police are still questioning Arpita’s closed ones to identify possible provocations and motives for the alleged crime.
“I don’t know why we’re even being asked if she was depressed. She was a happy, healthy and independent woman. She was progressing in her career, and her boyfriend might have been jealous of her success. I don’t think he had planned to murder her – he probably did it on an impulse – in a fit of rage, during a fight. I know this because I have witnessed his uncontrollable rage. That anger certainly has the potential to make him kill.”Shweta Tiwary
Mumbai police sources added that there are several inconsistencies in the statements given by her boyfriend, his three friends, and a domestic help, who was also present in the apartment. The police have been questioning the five men for the past three days, and are also scouring Arpita’s phone records and her social media accounts for clues on her mysterious death.
“Since we suspected foul play in her death, we have registered a complaint under Indian Penal Code sections 302 for murder and 201 for destruction of evidence against unidentified persons. Further investigation is in progress. No arrests have been made so far,” said Phatangare.
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