The Bombay High Court on Monday refused bail and upheld the life sentence given to artist Chintan Upadhyay, convicted last October for conspiring to murder his estranged wife, Hema Upadhyay, and her attorney, Haresh Bhambani in December 2015.Upadhyay had appealed to the High Court in October, claiming the lower court was mistaken in its judgment and lacked sufficient evidence. His plea to suspend his sentence and grant bail while the appeal is heard was rejected by Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Gauri Godse. Mumbai double murder case Hema, a popular artist herself, and Bhambani were killed on December 11, 2015. Their bodies were stuffed into cardboard boxes and discarded in a ditch in Mumbais Kandivali area.Additional Sessions Judge S Y Bhosale of the Dindoshi court had found Upadhyay guilty of plotting with co-conspirators to commit the murders. Three other men - tempo driver Vijay Rajbhar and his helpers, Pradeep Rajbhar and Shivkumar Rajbhar - were also convicted for carrying out the killings. Police are still searching for a key suspect, art fabricator Vidyadhar Rajbhar, whos still on the run.Upadhyay continues to maintain his innocence. His appeal against the conviction will be heard by the High Court in due course. But for now, his bid to be released from prison has been denied.
