Mumbai, Jan 31: The sessions court on Saturday sentenced 26-year-old Shree Jogdhankar to life imprisonment for the murder of 19-year-old Khar resident Jhanvi Kukreja, with whom he was allegedly in a relationship. The court observed that he pushed her from the second floor of the building, knowing that it could cause her death.
Court’s observations
“Pushing or throwing someone from a height of a second floor, which is nearly 15 or 18 or 20 feet—there is every possibility of causing the death of a person; it is common sense, which a prudent person must have. There is no claim that the accused No. 1 (Jogdhankar) is not a prudent man. In all probabilities, he was having that sense, and when he pushed or threw the deceased from the second-floor staircase, the only possibility was death,” sessions judge S R Navander observed while holding Jogdhankar guilty of murder.
Co-accused acquitted
Meanwhile, the court acquitted Kukreja’s friend, Diya Padalkar, giving her the benefit of doubt. The court observed that the “prosecution has established her presence at the crime spot. Her complicity in the commission of the crime is doubtful as there were no injuries caused to her, except for the injury on her lip.”
“Padalkar’s injury may have also been caused during the scuffle, but her complicity in causing the fatal injuries to the deceased is doubtful,” the court held while acquitting her.
Mother reacts to verdict
Kukreja’s mother, Nidhi, who was represented by advocate Trivankumar Karnani, said she has faith in the judiciary but stated that she was not convinced by the acquittal of Padalkar. Nidhi broke down after coming out of the court subsequent to the verdict and looked disappointed at Padalkar’s acquittal.
Her lawyer, Karnani, said, “Padalkar’s presence is accepted at the spot by the court, but still she has been given the benefit of a doubt. We will study the verdict and decide the future course of action accordingly.”
Events leading to the incident
On December 31, 2020, Kukreja had gone to a New Year’s Eve party with Padalkar and Jogdhankar on the terrace of a building where their friend Yash Ahuja resided. The three of them had also gone to Kukreja’s house to celebrate her father’s birthday before heading to the party.
As per the prosecution’s case, Kukreja and Jogdhankar were in a relationship. Kukreja was upset over Jogdhankar’s proximity with Padalkar at the venue on the eighth floor. The police claimed the three had a fight. Around 1.45 am, when Kukreja was on her way down, both accused followed her from the fifth floor and started quarrelling with her.
They allegedly assaulted her on the way down, pulling her by the hair until they reached the second floor, causing her serious injuries. Later, she was found dead on the ground floor.
Prosecution’s arguments
The prosecution contended that Kukreja was assaulted to death by the two after a fight on the stairs. Kukreja had more than 40 injuries on her body. Besides, the prosecution stressed that “the CCTV footage of the building showed that Jogdhankar was seen coming out calmly and quietly, appearing undisturbed, on the ground floor from the area where the body of Kukreja was lying.”
The prosecution claimed that if he were innocent, he should have raised an alarm upon seeing her body bleeding on the floor. Additionally, the prosecution claimed that Jogdhankar had given contradictory statements regarding his own injuries. This conduct is what the court found suspicious and a key circumstance against him.
The conduct is what the court too found suspicious and a key circumstance against him while holding Jogdhankar guilty of the murder.
Defence version
The defence, however, had claimed that Kukreja died after he left the party and that he also had a conversation with Kukreja at around 2.05 am. On the injuries, he claimed that he was attacked from behind on the staircase in the dark. Hence, he claimed he could not see the attacker.
Court relies on circumstantial evidence
The court, after considering all the evidence, observed that, “There is no eyewitness to establish what happened, only circumstantial evidence. The accused is the only person who can give an explanation as to what happened at the incident.”
Narrating the incident as it was proved by the prosecution, the court said, “In the New Year party, the deceased (Kukreja) was deeply hurt because of the flirtatious behaviour of accused No. 1 (Jogdhankar) and she also cried. In a state of anger, she left the party and went to the staircase. On the staircase, she was with both the accused. No other inference can be made apart from the fact that a quarrel took place between them, and the quarrel turned into a scuffle.”
“Jogdhankar and the deceased had a fight. During the said fight, he got violent and furiously assaulted the deceased and pushed her from the second floor from the staircase, and she lost her life due to it, which is proved,” the court said while pronouncing the verdict on Saturday.
Life imprisonment awarded
While holding Jogdhankar guilty of the murder of Kukreja, the court said, “If someone is pushed or thrown from the second floor, there is every possibility of causing death. The act done by Jogdhankar of causing the death of the deceased amounts to murder.”
The court also questioned Jogdhankar’s post-incident conduct and said it pointed to his culpability. The court said that if he was really innocent, he could have called his family members or given an explanation to everyone about how he sustained injuries. However, the court noted that he chose not to reveal this. On the other hand, when a friend called, his reaction was cool-headed and indifferent.
After holding him guilty, the court explained the finding to him and asked if he wanted to make any submissions on the quantum of sentence. Jogdhankar continued to claim that he is innocent and falsely implicated in the crime.
Jogdhankar claimed that after he was questioned by the police, he narrated the entire incident but alleged that the police chose to implicate him. He said, “I had no intention to kill her. We were friends for five to six years.” He went on to plead that he suffered a great loss to his career and education and prayed for a lenient view in awarding the sentence.
Since the case, the court said, does not fall under the category of the rarest of rare cases, Jogdhankar was awarded life imprisonment.
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