Meenakshi Thapa Murder Case: Kareena Kapoor Khan was in the lead role in director Madhur Bhandarkar's film 'Heroine' released in 2012, but a real story that started from the sets of this film shocked the entire country. In fact, on the sets of the film itself, actors Amit Kumar Jaiswal and Preeti Surin had hatched a complete conspiracy to kidnap and brutally murder their co-actress Meenakshi Thapa. Out of greed for money, junior artists kidnapped Meenakshi, demanded a ransom of Rs 15 lakh and later beheaded her to hide her identity. Both the accused, who were caught after investigation by Mumbai Police, were convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment by the Mumbai Sessions Court in the year 2018.
The glamor of Bollywood attracts everyone, but Meenakshi Thapa She became a victim of the darkness hidden behind this glitter. In 2012, when Madhur Bhandarkar was shooting for his film 'Heroine', Meenakshi met Amit Jaiswal and Preeti Surin on the sets. Preeti got a very small role in the film.
During the conversation, Meenakshi told them to impress both of them that she belonged to a very big and rich family of Dehradun and was working in films only for her hobby. Amit and Preeti were already struggling with debt and poverty. As soon as they heard Meenakshi's story, both of them got greedy. On the pretext of getting her work, he trapped Meenakshi and prepared a plan to take her away from Mumbai.
In March 2012, Amit and Preeti tricked Meenakshi that a big Bhojpuri film was going to be made in Uttar Pradesh, in which she could get the lead role. In the hope of her luck shining, Meenakshi agreed to go with him. On March 13, 2012, Meenakshi caught Kamayani Express from Lokmanya Tilak Terminus in Mumbai. Her friend Alok Verma dropped her at the station, who later told the police that Amit and Preeti were also with Meenakshi.
On the way, Meenakshi called her mother and told that she was going to Allahabad (now Prayagraj) with her friends. But after March 15, Meenakshi's phone suddenly got switched off and she lost contact with her family completely.
On March 17, 2012, a message came on Meenakshi's mother's mobile from an unknown number. This message made the ground slip from under the feet of the family. It was clearly written in the message, "If you want to see your daughter alive, then arrange for Rs 15 lakh within three days. If the police even gets a clue about this, then the objectionable video of Meenakshi will be uploaded on the internet and spread all over Dehradun." Meenakshi's brother was in the Indian Army at that time, he immediately tried to handle the situation. The family lodged a complaint of missing and extortion at Amboli police station in Mumbai.
Mumbai Police According to the charge sheet and the documents presented in the court, the accused soon realized that Meenakshi's family was not as rich as she had said. Mother had somehow arranged for only Rs 60 thousand. Fearing their secret being exposed and the police, Amit and Preeti decided to remove Meenakshi from the way. Both of them strangled Meenakshi to death in a hotel near Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh. To hide her identity, they beheaded Meenakshi.
The accused threw Meenakshi's headless body (torso) in a septic tank near Preeti's house in Allahabad. So, after hiding the severed head in a plastic bag, both of them left for Lucknow by bus and threw it from the window of the moving bus in the dense forests.
The team of the then investigating officer of Mumbai Police, Ashok Sawant, was continuously tracking the mobile location of the missing actress. The biggest mistake made by accused Amit and Preeti was that they were using Meenakshi's SIM card and ATM card even after the murder. He had sent ransom messages from the same SIM.
On April 14, 2012, the police received intelligence that both the accused were going to withdraw money from the Axis Bank ATM located near Bandra Station. Police laid a trap and caught Amit Jaiswal and Preeti Surin. During strict interrogation, both of them confessed to their crime. Police had recovered the decomposed body of Meenakshi from Allahabad on 16 April 2012.
This case went on for years in Mumbai court. The country's famous special government lawyer Ujjwal Nikam appeared on behalf of the government. Nikam argued in the court that this was the 'rarest of rare' case because the accused had cold-bloodedly and systematically ended the life and dreams of an emerging artist.
On 9 May 2018, Additional Sessions Judge S. Yes. Shetye declared both the accused guilty on all main counts. However, instead of giving them death sentence, the court sentenced them to triple life imprisonment, which both the convicts have to spend in jail together. Even today both of them are suffering the punishment for their actions behind bars.
