Mumbai, Feb 03: A sessions court, which recently delivered the verdict in the 2021 Jhanvi Kukreja murder case, criticised the manner in which the Khar police collected evidence from the crime scene, holding much of it to be unreliable. A copy of the order, which was made available on Tuesday, detailed how lapses marred the evidence collection process.
Background of the case
In the early hours of January 1, 2021, Kukreja (19) was fatally pushed by 27-year-old Shree Jogdhankar from the second floor of the Bhagwati Heights building during a New Year’s Eve party. The court on Saturday sentenced Jogdhankar to life imprisonment, noting that he pushed the teen during a scuffle.
The prosecution said the two were in a relationship and had an altercation over Jogdhankar’s proximity to Kukreja’s close friend and neighbour, Diya Padalkar (24). She was also tried in the case but was acquitted after the court extended the benefit of the doubt.
Court flags lapses in evidence collection
Sessions Judge Satyanarayan Navander termed the collection of evidence from the spot a “disturbing aspect” of the case. The court discarded all evidence gathered after Kukreja was shifted to the hospital, observing that it was neither properly sealed nor documented.
According to the prosecution, the police had seized Kukreja’s footwear found at different locations on the staircase, her jewellery, strands of hair and clothes. However, the court ruled that these items lost their evidentiary value as the police “took no care to avoid even accidental tampering of the samples”.
Questions over spot panchnama
The court noted that after Kukreja was taken to the hospital, Investigating Officer Dilip Uttekar revisited the scene and asked police sub-inspector Suresh Kasole to secure it. A forensic science laboratory (FSL) technician later collected samples, following which the spot panchnama was prepared between 9 am and 1.05 pm, as per official records.
However, CCTV footage produced by the defence contradicted the police version. The court observed that after the FSL technician left, the seized articles were placed in polythene bags, wrapped in a bedsheet and handed over to a building security guard, who was asked to keep them in a police vehicle around 10 am. The judge also pointed out that the articles were neither sealed nor packed separately at the scene.
Also Watch:
Serious doubts raised
The court further noted that after 10 am, no police personnel were seen at the spot and no independent witnesses or ‘panchas’ appeared in the CCTV footage during the relevant period. The court held that the spot panchnama appeared to have been prepared later and not at the crime scene, raising serious doubts about the integrity of the evidence.
To get details on exclusive and budget-friendly property deals in Mumbai & surrounding regions, do visit: https://budgetproperties.in/
