Two convicted of actress Meenakshi Thapa’s murder, sentencing today

Meenakshi Thapa

A SESSIONS court on Wednesday convicted two persons for the murder of actor Meenakshi Thapa in 2012. Amitkumar Jaiswal (41) and Alveena alias Preeti Surin (32) were found guilty of murder, criminal conspiracy and destruction of evidence. The headless body of Meenakshi was found in a water tank in Allahabad nearly a month after the murder.

The duo, who worked as coordinators in the film industry, had befriended 26-year-old Meenakshi, who had appeared in several films including Kareena Kapoor starrer ‘Heroine’ in 2012. According to the prosecution, Jaiswal and Surin took Meenakshi to Uttar Pradesh on the pretext of work in March 2012 and wanted to seek a ransom from her family as they believed she came from an affluent family.

On March 13, 2012, Meenakshi called her mother and said she was travelling with Jaiswal and Surin to UP. Meenakshi called her after reaching Allahabad and informed her that she was going to Surin’s home. From March 15, however, Meenakshi’s mother could not contact her as her number was switched off. On March 17, her mother received a text message stating that if she wanted to see her daughter safe, she should pay Rs 15 lakh. The message also said that if she informed the police, an obscene film of her daughter will be uploaded on the Internet.

Meenakshi’s mother informed her son, who was then posted in the Indian Army in J&K. Subsequently, a missing person complaint was filed at Amboli police station by her brother and Meenakshi’s friend, Alok Verma, who had dropped her at LTT Terminus station in March 2012, where he had seen the two accused with her. In April 2012, the two accused were arrested when they returned to Mumbai and a debit card belonging to Meenakshi was found in their possession. Based on the information provided by the two, the headless body of Meenakshi was recovered from a tank in Allahabad, near Surin’s house. The prosecution claimed that Meenakshi was beheaded by the accused and that the two had carried the head from Allahabad in a bus to Lucknow and threw it out.

Special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam examined 36 witnesses including Meenakshi’s mother, sister-in-law, brother, Verma and other friends of Meenakshi. Among the witnesses were also Surin’s father and cousin, who had deposed about Surin having brought Meenakshi home in Allahabad in March 2012. The cousin had deposed before the court that a woman, who ‘looked like a heroine’ had come with Surin.