My cousin killed my aunt: Pooja Bedi |
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Pooja Bedi
Former model- actress Pooja Bedi, the daughter of the late danseuse Protima Bedi, was yesterday coming to terms with crime and tragedy in the family.
In the murder at D Road, Churchgate, on Tuesday, it was her aunt who was killed, uncle who was stabbed and the person who allegedly called for the hit was a cousin she was once close to.
I was devasted when I got to know the news yesterday, when my aunt called me up and told me that Gaurav (Poojas cousin) had arranged this heinous crime. In fact, the whole family is devastated. And especially me, since Gaurav was extremely close to me, said Pooja.
On Tuesday afternoon Rakesh Ranjit Oberoi (21) killed Pushpa Gupta with two shots to the chest. Pushpas husband, Bipin Chandra Gupta (57), is Protima Bedis brother. He was stabbed in the ensuing melee. Rakesh had actually been contracted to kill him too.
Gaurav Mehta, who allegedly hired Rakesh for Rs 50,000, is the son of Monica Oberoi from her first marriage. Monica is Protimas and Bipins sister.
As it turns out, even the contracted killer, Rakesh, is related to all of them. Rakesh is the nephew of Vikki Oberoi, who is Monicas third and present husband.
Rakesh had checked into the guesthouse run by Bipin and his wife in Firdaus building on Monday evening, posing as Rajiv Sohni, a tenant.
Yesterday, what was coming together was a family torn apart by a property dispute and a brother, Bipin, who had come to be disliked.
Pooja yesterday said, The last time I actually met my uncle (Bipin) was around 15 to 16 years ago, but I also remember seeing him for prayers two years ago at our home, after my brother Siddharth had died in America.
Pooja added that she didnt remember seeing him for her celebrated mothers cremation three years ago. My mother also had hardly any interaction with him. For about a decade or so, they hadnt talked to each other.
Gaurav allegedly wanted the Guptas killed because of a property dispute over Bipins flat in Firdaus building, D Road, which is worth Rs 2 crore, and another apartment at Shivaji Park worth Rs 1 crore (which is primarily owned by the three sisters).
There are differing versions to the ownership of the flat in Neel Tarang building, Shivaji Park, which is at the crux of the dispute.
Bipin said he came into possession of the three-bedroom flat in Shivaji Park and the one in Firdaus building when his father Laxmichand Gupta died in 1969. I took over the mantle of the family and since my father had already started building yet another two-bedroom flat in Shivaji Park, I felt it was my duty to complete that one too. Bipin said that since he couldnt own two properties in the same society, he then transferred the three-bedroom apartment in Shivaji Park to his mothers name.
But Monica Oberoi, mother of the accused Gaurav, said Bipin was a liar. My father died in 1969 without a will and Bipin spent not a penny constructing the second flat in Shivaji Park. On my dads death, a sum of Rs 40,000 came to us as he had taken out an LIC policy. My dads sister, who is very well off, paid the rest of the Rs 35,000 to see the flat completed.
Bipins mother, when she died in 1994, left the three-bedroom flat to his three sisters (Ashita is the third sister) and other relatives, but left him out. Bipin filed a lawsuit for his share eight years ago, but the case was rejected.
Monica added, In our magnanimity, we gave Bipin the two-bedroom flat in Shivaji Park and also the apartment in Marine Lines, expecting some monetary compensation from him.
Monica said the monetary compensation they hoped for from Bipin for the properties never came. When I was staying in Bipins flat in Shivaji Park, he once threw me out and literally threw out all my furniture and other paraphernalia, she said.
She added, Even Protima was totally biased against Bipin, since he was very rude to our mother. He hurled so many abuses at our mother, at me, and even at Gauravs nine-year-old daughter. Gaurav was very frustrated with the goings-on and it was quite natural that a suppressed tiger finally came out of his cage.
Monica further defended her accused son Gaurav, saying Bipin was a total misfit in the family. Even Gauravs daughter is not feeling bad about what happened to Bipin. Imagine a nine-year-old having no reaction when her dad kills his uncle, she said.
But Bipin did not hide his feelings for his sister either. She will do anything for money. I am sure she has a hand in this incident, he alleged. Bipin went to the extent of saying he had no grudge against Gaurav. Some days people can turn bad. But that day is not the day to judge that particular person. He added that Gaurav had been like a son to him.
But Monicas parting shot was that the headline in yesterdays Mid Day, which called her son the greedy nephew, was baseless. It was the greedy uncle who instigated my son to murder, she said.
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