Minakshi Thapa murder case: Verdict likely today

The two accused had taken Thapa to Allahabad in 2012, on the pretext of an assignment. They allegedly beheaded her and asked for ransom from her mother.

The sessions court is scheduled to give its verdict on Tuesday against two junior artistes for allegedly kidnapping and killing aspiring actor Minakshi Thapa .

The two accused Amit Kumar Jaiswal and Preeti Surin alias Alvina had taken Thapa to Allahabad on March 13, 2012, on the pretext of an assignment. They allegedly beheaded her and asked for ransom from her mother.

Special public prosecutor Ujwal Nikam has examined 35 witnesses against the two and those included Surin’s father who had last seen Thapa with the two accused in Allahabad on the day the aspiring actress was purportedly murdered.

The prosecution has claimed that Thapa, an aspiring actor, came to Mumbai from Dehradun and met Jaiswal and Surin on the sets of Madhur Bhandarkar’s film Heroine. The duo also aspired to make a career in Bollywood. Thapa told them she came from an extremely affluent family and the duo conspired to kidnap her for ransom.

On March 13, 2012, after convincing Thapa of a prospective modelling assignment for her in Uttar Pradesh, the trio left the city. It is claimed that they left in a train from Lokmanya Tilak Terminus. On the next day, they got down at Allahabad railway station.

The prosecution claimed that at Allahabad, the trio went to see Surin’s father, a watchman of a women’s hostel who stayed in a quarter.

It was at Surin’s father’s quarter where they allegedly severed Thapa’s head.

According to the prosecution’s story, the two disposed of Thapa’s body in a septic tank near Surin’s father’s quarters. The two allegedly took her head and left for Lucknow. The police claimed that Jaiswal had concealed the knife in Lucknow. Further away from Lucknow, they boarded a state transport bus for Jaunpur. On the way, the accused threw Thapa’s head from the bus.

It is claimed that after disposing Tapa’s body, the two retained her mobile and her bank debit card. The prosecution claimed that they had messaged Thapa’s mother to deposit money in her account failing which they would make Thapa’s blue film and circulate it.

The two were caught on April 14, 2012 near Bandra railway station when they had come to withdraw the money using Thapa’s debit card.