Kirti Vyas’s murderers siphoned salon money to set up business

Although her body wasn’t found, cops feel CA was killed as she knew of couple’s misdeeds

MUMBAI: The 962-page charge sheet filed for the murder of 28-year-old accountant Kirti Vyas includes statements by colleagues who have said Siddhesh Tamhankar and Khushi Sahjwani, the two accused of murdering Vyas, wanted to start a ready-made garment shop together. These statements suggest motives for Tamhankar and Sahjwani killing Vyas. The police were unable to find Vyas’s body and their case rests mostly on forensic evidence, CCTV footage from the day Vyas went missing and statements of those who knew the three of them.

According to Purneet Manwa, marketing manager of popular salon franchise Bblunt where Vyas, Tamhankar and Sahjwani worked, Tamhankar wanted to set up his own business venture — a ready-made garment shop —for which he needed ₹4 lakh. Manwa said that there was a “female friend” who was going to finance the venture, but did not know if Sahjwani was that friend.

Cops also found that Tamhankar’s careless performance at work was the subject of a few of

Vyas’s Whatsapp conversations. In one, she writes, “I am done with his complete disregard for responsibility…yaar uska kaam main karti hun (I do his work)…aaj aaya nahin bolta hai bore ho raha tha (Hasn’t come to work today, told me he is bored).” She goes on to say, ‘I am finding replacement [for Siddhesh] tomorrow.’

Police investigations also found Sahjwani had totally siphoned off ₹2,70,000 from Bblunt Academy and the police believe Vyas could have exposed her as well as her illicit affair with Tamhankar. One of Vyas’s responsibilities was to tally the fees that Sahjwani received, from which Sahjwani siphoned more than ₹2 lakh by keeping a cut of

₹10,000 from each student who enrolled into the academy. .

Bblunt’s administration head and alternate director, Varsha Gurunath Khanolkar, told the police that Vyas had wanted to speak to her on March 15, but could not as she had a headache. On March 17, Vyas was also to submit a negative review report against Tamhankar for non-performance. KHUSHI SIDDHESH SAHJWANI TAMHANKAR found in Sahjwani’s car were of Vyas’s, the couple is arrested. Their phone locations also show that they had gone to Wadala May 9: The couple confesses to the murder and reveals that they had disposed of Vyas’s body in a drain at Wadala, near Inox theatre, on March 16

July 30: The crime branch files a 962-page charge sheet against the couple although the body is not found

“I believe Kirti wanted to talk to me about the money being siphoned off by Khushi, and about her affair with Siddhesh,” Khanolkar told the police. She stated that accounts later revealed how Sahjwani siphoned off money. She also claimed someone had stolen ₹60,000 that a student had given her even though no complaint was filed.