MUMBAI JAN 31: A sessions court in Mumbai on Saturday convicted Shree Jogdhankar and sentenced him to life imprisonment in the 2021 murder of 19‑year‑old Jhanvi Kukreja, more than five years after the incident on New Year’s Eve. Co‑accused Diya Padalkar was acquitted and given the benefit of the doubt.
Jogdhankar and Padalkar, both in their 20s, had faced murder charges in the case. Jhanvi, a psychology student from Santacruz, was found dead in a pool of blood near the staircase of Bhagwati Heights in Khar in the early hours of January 1, 2021, after attending a year‑ending party on the building’s terrace. The post‑mortem report recorded 48 injuries on her body.
According to the prosecution, Jhanvi was allegedly assaulted and dragged down the stairs from the fifth floor after a fight broke out among the trio, reportedly over Jogdhankar’s closeness to Padalkar, who was Jhanvi’s childhood friend and neighbour. Police had arrested both Jogdhankar and Padalkar for assaulting and killing Jhanvi after the party.
The prosecution built its case on circumstantial evidence, including 49 witnesses, CCTV footage from the building, forensic reports and DNA analysis. It argued that Jogdhankar was seen leaving the premises in a dazed state with blood on his torn shirt, while Padalkar allegedly sought medical treatment for a lip injury sustained during the incident.
Forensic reports showed Jhanvi’s blood on Jogdhankar’s shirt and on items used by Padalkar, and DNA profiling was said to confirm Jogdhankar’s biological presence at the crime scene and Padalkar’s contact with blood‑stained articles. The victim’s mother, Niddhi Kukreja, through her lawyer Trivankumar Karnani, told the court that her daughter’s murder was “brutal, heinous and barbaric” and sought dignity and closure.
Jogdhankar’s defence, led by lawyer Wahab Khan, contended that the case rested entirely on circumstantial evidence without eyewitnesses and that the prosecution failed to establish a complete chain of proof. It claimed his injuries resulted from a sudden fight in the heat of the moment.
The court, presided over by Additional Sessions Judge Satyanarayan Navandar, ultimately held Jogdhankar guilty of murder under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and awarded him life imprisonment along with a fine of ₹25,000, while acquitting Padalkar.
