2 held for actor’s murder

Officers said Thapa,a Nepalese national who had settled in Dehradun before moving to Mumbai,went missing a month ago from her Lokhandwala residence.

Jaiswal and Surin had come to Mumbai last year and were living in Virar. The two had been working as advocates in Allahabad previously and also conducted coaching classes. They had befriended Thapa at a film shoot,the police said. Thapa had told the duo that she was from a rich family and was working in Bollywood simply to pursue her hobby,said officers.

Police said Jaiswal had not been earning much when he met Surin. The two had then started coaching classes which incurred losses. When Jaiswal’s wife learnt about his alleged affair with Surin,he left his wife and eloped to Mumbai with Surin,they said.

“The couple then planned to kidnap Thapa and demand ransom from her father. On March 13,they lured Thapa to Allahabad for a film shoot. After killing her in Gorakhpur,they acquired her ATM card and mobile SIM card,” said an officer who did not wish to be named.

The accused then allegedly made calls to Thapa’s mother demanding a ransom of Rs15 lakh. They allegedly threatened Thapa’s family by saying that they would shoot a blue film featuring Thapa and would kill her if their demand were not met. According to the police,the duo had instructed Thapa’s brother Navraj to deposit the cash in Thapa’s account. Navraj had then registered a kidnapping complaint with Dehradun police which was later transferred to Amboli police station.

Police said Navraj had given kidnappers Rs 60,000 while the police was searching for them.

Acting on a tip-off that the accused were in Bandra,the police arrested them on Saturday.

Officers said they were tracing Thapa’s cellphone,the last location of which was Allahabad. However,on Saturday the location was traced to Badra.

“At first Jaiswal and Surin denied their involvement. However,Jaiswal admitted that Thapa had given her mobile and ATM card to him while she was in Allahabad with her boyfriend. After continous,Surin confessed to the crime. The two,however,have not told the police where they have disposed Thapa’s body. Even if we find the body,we might not be able to find Thapa’s head as the accused do not remember where exactly they threw it,” said the officer.