Mumbai, Dec 18 (PTI) A court here on Friday asked the father of an absconding accused in the 2015 Hema Upadhyay- Harish Bhambani murder case, to pay Rs 5 lakh as he failed to produce the tempo allegedly used for ferrying the victims' bodies.

Upadhyay, a Mumbai-based artist, and her lawyer Bhambani were killed on December 11, 2015.

Vijay Rajbhar is accused of murdering the duo. A tempo, which belonged to him, was allegedly used for disposing of the bodies.

The accused's father Ramadhar Rajbhar had earlier sought the custody of the tempo saying that the probe was complete, which the court had allowed.

The court had then directed him to execute an indemnity bond of Rs 5 lakh and also that the vehicle be produced as and when required.

However, despite being directed multiple times and even after issuance of warrant against him,Ramadharfailed to produce the vehicle.

Hence, sessions court judge S Oza on Friday forfeited the indemnity bond and ordered Ramadhar to pay Rs 5 lakh within two weeks.

The court added that if he failed to pay the amount within the stipulated time, a warrant will be issued for its recovery, the court added.

The prosecution is presently examining the panch witness in whose presence the tempo was seized, and needs to verify that it was the same vehicle.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)