Kirti Vyas murder: Only fault, he was among those last seen with victim, say accused's kin

MUMBAI: The family of BBlunt employee Siddhesh Tamhankar, arrested for the murder of his colleague

Kirti Vyas

, said his only fault was that he was among the last two people to be seen with Vyas before her disappearance. Tamhankar's parents claimed that he had reached his Andheri office within an hour of meeting Vyas at Grant Road and this wouldn't have been possible had he halted midway to eliminate her and dispose of her body.

A BCom graduate, Tamhankar lives with his parents and brother at Bhoiwada on rent. He worked at BBlunt for the past five years and made around Rs 25,000 per month. "Siddhesh was tired of dabbling in accounts (his job at BBlunt involved handling accounts) and wanted to start a venture of his own. He had told us that the firm had put him on notice. The only reason he was continuing with the job was that it provided the family with a steady income," his sister, Suchita, said.

The family said Tamhankar was friends with Sahjwani. "On March 18, we were out of station when Siddhesh called up his sister and said police had summoned him for questioning in relation to Vyas' disappearance. We cooperated with the authorities as we too wanted Vyas to be found. For two months, the crime branch summoned Siddhesh every morning and let him go home at night after quizzing him throughout the day. He missed work and pay. But his sudden arrest on Saturday came as a shock," his father, Shantaram, said, adding that the family is devastated and his wife has taken ill.

Sahjwani, 42, who lives in a Santacruz highrise with her husband and 16-year-old son, joined BBlunt a couple of years ago. She made around Rs 60,000 to 70,000 per month, according to police. Her family wasn't home on Saturday when TOI visited; neighbours said the family was aloof and weren't aware what Sahjwani did for a living. "Sahjwani's husband used to work in a restaurant. He recently started his own travel business. The couple has been living here for over three years," said a society resident. The Sahjwanis live on the 11th floor of the 13 storey society. The crime branch spoke to office bearers of the society for retrieving CCTV footage from March 16-Sahjwani's car was used for the murder and cops wanted to find out what time the car arrived at the building and who was at the wheel.