India, Oct. 6 -- Fifteen years after 56-year-old Aarti Chabalani was found murdered in her Santacruz home, both men accused of the crime stand acquitted. While the Bombay High Court had, in 2024, acquitted her house help Rajkumar Nishad alias Sunil Yadav, his alleged accomplice Shrishyam Paswan alias Gujar, now 37, too was acquitted last week.

The court held that Paswan's presence at the scene of crime was itself doubtful, though Chabalani's death was undoubtedly homicidal.

Chabalani was found dead in her second floor flat in Santacruz West on August 11, 2011, with her legs tied by a rope and her throat slit. Cash of about Rs.50,000 and an iPhone were reported missing from her home, and the incident had brought unverified house helps un...