Mahesh Acharya

Migrant Nepali organisations in Mumbai have been demanding a serious investigation into the “suspicious” death of a Nepali domestic help at the home of Bollywood actor Ayushman Khurana.

“It has been nearly a week since this incident happened. However Khurana has yet to return to Mumbai,” Master Thapa, president of the Mumbai-based Nepali Labourers and Workers’ Union told the Post. Indian media have reported that Khurana, along with his family, has been in Delhi for the past few days for the shooting of a film.

“Police have handed over the deceased’s body to his maternal uncle, violating Indian law, which states that a dead body can only be handed over to the father, mother or brothers,” said Thapa, who suspects foul play. A team of Nepali migrants has been meeting regularly with concerned police officials in Goregaon, Mumbai in a bid to intensify investigations and gain compensation for the deceased’s kin.

The deceased, 27-year-old Rudraprasad Kafle of Shivalaya Tole, Pragatinagar in Nawalparasi district, had been working in Khurana’s flat at the Anupam Towers in Mumbai as domestic help for the past five years. Before moving to Mumbai, Kafle had worked at Khurana’s parental home in Chandigarh for five years.

Kafle was discovered dead on March 2 when police broke into Khurana’s flat after neighbours complained of a strong stench emanating from the apartment. Taking note of body’s state of decomposition and Kafle’s last call details, police have estimated Kafle’s date of death as February 27. Kafle was alone in the apartment as Khurana and his family were in Delhi then.

“We found him hanging from a ceiling fan when we broke into the house. There was no sign of forced entry nor external bruises on his body,” said a high-level police officer investigating the death.

“Given the circumstances, he seems to have committed suicide. We are, however, investigating all angles,” said the officer on condition of anonymity. Police also said that the flat was locked from the inside and that no suicide note was found.

The next day, police handed over Kafle’s decomposed body to his maternal uncle Dilip Gaudel, who has also been working in Mumbai, following a postmortem at the local Cooper Hospital. Kafle’s last rites were performed on the same day.

Local police are preparing to question Khurana as soon as he returns to Mumbai. Earlier, Khurana had issued a public statement expressing grief over Kafle’s death. “As far as I know, there were no problems. Rudra was happy at Khurana’s house and his employers were also content with his work,” said Gaudel. According to him, Kafle was planning to go back to Nepal for a few weeks to get married.

Published on: 7 March 2013 | The Kathmandu Post