The Dark Side of India’s Movie World Exposed
Madhu Nainan - Straits Times | April 28, 2012
An Indian man wheels a bicycle past a wall mural inspired by Bollywood's classic film 'Anarkali' in Mumbai on April 22, 2012. (AFP Photo/Punit Paranjpe)
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Mumbai. Three gruesome murders in Bollywood within a span of two months have exposed the sordid underbelly of India’s film capital, where hundreds of aspiring young actors flock every year with dreams of achieving stardom.
The murders, splashed across the front pages of local newspapers and replete with a cast of suave con artists, aspiring actors, corrupt police and members of the underworld, could give Bollywood crime dramas a run for their money.
Film industry analyst Piroj Wadia says many young “out-of-towners” land in Mumbai knowing nobody, and are preyed upon by con artists and criminals as they stand out with their flashy clothes and different accents. “In a way, these murders represent the darker side of Bollywood.”
On April 10, police arrested Vijay Palande, a 41-year-old erstwhile waiter with a taste for fancy cars, on suspicion of killing two people related to the movie industry in order to grab their apartments in upscale areas of suburban Mumbai.
One of the victims was dismembered.
The third murder was of a small-time actress, abducted for ransom by a couple who decapitated her and threw her head out of a moving bus.
Police are still unravelling the case of Palande, who had been arrested in 1999 and given a life sentence in 2002 for the murder of Swaraj Das and his son Anup with the intention to grab their apartment in the posh area of Juhu.
Palande jumped the parole granted for supposed good behavior in 2003 and fled to Thailand on a false passport where he re-established contacts with the underworld he had cultivated while in jail. He also underwent cosmetic surgery on his face and sneaked back into India.
Police zeroed in on him again after the murder of MArun Tikku, a Delhi-based businessman and father of small-time actor Anuj Tikku, this month.
Palande persuaded the actor to allow his then German wife to stay as a paying guest in Arun Tikku’s apartment. Having gained entry into the 1,500 sq ft flat in an affluent part of north Mumbai’s Oshiwara suburb, he allegedly sneaked in two of his accomplices. The accomplices, now in police custody, are accused of strangling and stabbing Arun Tikku to death.
While the man was being killed, the suspect is alleged to have spiked the younger man’s drink with sedatives and taken him to a farmhouse in the outskirts of the city.
Police arrested Palande on Anuj Tikku’s testimony and also questioned him on a March 6 murder of Delhi property broker Karan Kakkad, who wanted to start a production firm in Bollywood.
All the victims were introduced to Palande by his moll, small-time model Simran Sood, variously described as his wife, niece, sister or girlfriend.
Police are now investigating his links with a senior Mumbai police officer who is his brother-in-law and is suspected of helping him cover his tracks.
While his crimes were being unearthed, another murder made the headlines, that of Nepali actress Meenakshi Thapa, whose headless body was found stuffed in a water tank on April 17.
She was befriended by aspiring actors Preeti Surin and Amit Jaiswal at a film shoot in the city. They found out that she came from a rich family, and abducted her.
Surin and Jaiswal, who hailed from the northern Indian town of Allahabad, the home town of Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan, invited Thapa to their home town for a film shoot.
Police suspect that she was killed in Allahabad before the call for ransom of 1.5 million rupees (S$37,000) was placed to her family.
She was decapitated, her body stuffed in their water tank and her head tossed out of a moving bus by the couple while they were on their way from Allahabad to the nearby city of Lucknow.
Both Surin and Jaiswal are in police custody.
Madhu Nainan - Straits Times | April 28, 2012
An Indian man wheels a bicycle past a wall mural inspired by Bollywood's classic film 'Anarkali' in Mumbai on April 22, 2012. (AFP Photo/Punit Paranjpe)
Related articles
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Pakistan Bans Film Featuring Indian James Bond 11:48am Mar 27, 2012
Forget Bollywood; India Likes a Fight 9:48pm Mar 15, 2012
SHARE THIS PAGE
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Share with google+ :
Post a comment
Please login to post comment
Comments
Be the first to write your opinion!
Mumbai. Three gruesome murders in Bollywood within a span of two months have exposed the sordid underbelly of India’s film capital, where hundreds of aspiring young actors flock every year with dreams of achieving stardom.
The murders, splashed across the front pages of local newspapers and replete with a cast of suave con artists, aspiring actors, corrupt police and members of the underworld, could give Bollywood crime dramas a run for their money.
Film industry analyst Piroj Wadia says many young “out-of-towners” land in Mumbai knowing nobody, and are preyed upon by con artists and criminals as they stand out with their flashy clothes and different accents. “In a way, these murders represent the darker side of Bollywood.”
On April 10, police arrested Vijay Palande, a 41-year-old erstwhile waiter with a taste for fancy cars, on suspicion of killing two people related to the movie industry in order to grab their apartments in upscale areas of suburban Mumbai.
One of the victims was dismembered.
The third murder was of a small-time actress, abducted for ransom by a couple who decapitated her and threw her head out of a moving bus.
Police are still unravelling the case of Palande, who had been arrested in 1999 and given a life sentence in 2002 for the murder of Swaraj Das and his son Anup with the intention to grab their apartment in the posh area of Juhu.
Palande jumped the parole granted for supposed good behavior in 2003 and fled to Thailand on a false passport where he re-established contacts with the underworld he had cultivated while in jail. He also underwent cosmetic surgery on his face and sneaked back into India.
Police zeroed in on him again after the murder of MArun Tikku, a Delhi-based businessman and father of small-time actor Anuj Tikku, this month.
Palande persuaded the actor to allow his then German wife to stay as a paying guest in Arun Tikku’s apartment. Having gained entry into the 1,500 sq ft flat in an affluent part of north Mumbai’s Oshiwara suburb, he allegedly sneaked in two of his accomplices. The accomplices, now in police custody, are accused of strangling and stabbing Arun Tikku to death.
While the man was being killed, the suspect is alleged to have spiked the younger man’s drink with sedatives and taken him to a farmhouse in the outskirts of the city.
Police arrested Palande on Anuj Tikku’s testimony and also questioned him on a March 6 murder of Delhi property broker Karan Kakkad, who wanted to start a production firm in Bollywood.
All the victims were introduced to Palande by his moll, small-time model Simran Sood, variously described as his wife, niece, sister or girlfriend.
Police are now investigating his links with a senior Mumbai police officer who is his brother-in-law and is suspected of helping him cover his tracks.
While his crimes were being unearthed, another murder made the headlines, that of Nepali actress Meenakshi Thapa, whose headless body was found stuffed in a water tank on April 17.
She was befriended by aspiring actors Preeti Surin and Amit Jaiswal at a film shoot in the city. They found out that she came from a rich family, and abducted her.
Surin and Jaiswal, who hailed from the northern Indian town of Allahabad, the home town of Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan, invited Thapa to their home town for a film shoot.
Police suspect that she was killed in Allahabad before the call for ransom of 1.5 million rupees (S$37,000) was placed to her family.
She was decapitated, her body stuffed in their water tank and her head tossed out of a moving bus by the couple while they were on their way from Allahabad to the nearby city of Lucknow.
Both Surin and Jaiswal are in police custody.
