Jhanvi Kukreja murder: Accused can't be released as circumstances point to his guilt, says HC

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A new year brings a chance to create dreams and is like a chapter waiting to be written, but the new year of 2021 landed a young man into a quagmire, the Bombay High Court noted while refusing bail to Shree Jogdhankar, an accused in the murder of Jhanvi Kukreja, who was found dead in a building in Khar on New Year's Eve last year.

A single bench of Justice Bharati Dangre had on July 7 rejected Jogdhankar's bail plea. A copy of the detailed order assigning reasons was made available on Friday.

The court in its order said that the circumstances relied upon by the prosecution connects Jogdhankar (23) with the crime and that they "prima facie point to his guilt".

Also Read: Khar murder case: If they have nothing to hide, why don't they have courage to face us, asks Jhanvi's mother

Kukreja (19) was found dead in the staircase of a residential building in suburban Khar on January 1, 2021. Her friends Jogdhankar and Diya Padalkar were later arrested by the police.

"A new year brings a chance to create dreams; A new year stands before us, like a chapter in a book, waiting to be written. However, the new year of 2021 landed the applicant - Shree Jogdhankar, a young boy of 21 years, into a quagmire," Justice Dangre said.

"He (Jogdhankar) is accused of murdering his close friend Jhanvi and in this act, it is alleged that he was assisted by another of his close friend Diya," the judge added.

The court order noted that the three youngsters (Kukreja, Jogdhankar and Padalkar) were to usher the new year with a big bang celebration with their friends.

The prosecution's case is that a scuffle took place between the deceased and Jogdhankar. The victim was brutally assaulted by Jogdhankar and was dragged from the 8th floor to the 2nd floor of the building's staircase.

Considering the material compiled in the police charge-sheet and the gravity of the accusations faced by him, no case is made out for releasing Jogdhankar on bail, the court said.

The court further said that the witnesses in the case were all friends and hence there was every possibility that Jogdhankar would tamper with the evidence and pressurise the prosecution witnesses.

"In the wake of the overwhelming circumstance of the presence of the applicant (Jogdhankar) in the company of the deceased and they being last seen together and the deceased lying in a pool of blood with 48 injuries on her body, is sufficient to establish the case of the prosecution attributing the murder to him," Justice Dangre said.

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