The last conversation London-based Shivani Ahluwalia had with her brother, Hemant Chawla, on July 4 was about his friend Nitin Sabharwal. On December 4, five months after Hemant was found dead at his friend’s residence in New Friends Colony, Nitin was arrested by Delhi Police in connection with the death. “Nitin and Hemant went to St Columba’s school, but later lost touch. It was only when Hemant returned to India and Nitin moved to NFC that they got back in touch. On July 4, Hemant told me he had been helping Nitin with a property deal. Hemant, who has been practising Buddhism for eight years, also told me he had ‘chanted and prayed’ at Nitin’s home recently,” Shivani, 44, said. Hemant, who used to be a financial analyst in the US, came to India in June last year after the death of his father because he wanted to take care of his mother, Shivani said. A little after 6 am on July 5, Shivani received a call in London from their help and driver Balwant Singh, who told them about the death. “My mother was visiting me. As soon as we heard about it, we wondered why Hemant was not in the hospital,” she said. A video call with a friend, who rushed to the spot, showed Hemant’s body propped up on three pillows, his shirt button open and the T-shirt underneath missing. “Police gave me his wallet and phone; it wasn’t even sealed. Police only filed an FIR on July 19 after I met the Commissioner,” she said. She said that after she landed in India, Nitin and she had a conversation. “He told me my brother was depressed, that he drank a lot. None of this is true — Hemant was on top of the world; he was working on developing a gay dating app.” The victim’s 72-year-old mother Neena Chawla said, “He loved the good life — music, fashion, food, travel. He was a topper, went to SRCC and then got a scholarship to the University of Southern California.” She said that he came out as gay to the family in December 1999. “I accepted sooner than his father. He could have led a dual life but he chose to be true to his conscience. Before he died, I told him to go back to the US. He had left everything behind for me, and people in India are also very judgmental. But he was loved dearly,” she said. Balwant, meanwhile, said, “I am scared since I was the person who went to pick up Hemant bhaiya and then saw his body. I insisted that Nitin call the police. I fear that I will be harmed.”
