The Bombay High Court on Thursday rejected the bail plea of Shree Ambadas Jogdhankar, 23, booked for the murder of his friend Jhanvi Kukreja, 19, at a New Year’s Eve party in Khar. Kukreja was found dead in a Khar building on January 1, 2021.
On the New Year’s Eve, Kukreja attended a party along with Jogdhankar, his co-accused Diya Padalkar, 19, and a few others on the terrace of a building in Khar. The police claimed that an argument ensued between Kukreja and the accused, leading to a violent scuffle on the staircase, where she was murdered.
The police claimed that forensic evidence showed bloodstains belonging to Kukreja were found on the shirt of Jogdhankar and the bedsheet where co-accused Padalkar had laid down following the murder.
The police alleged that Kukreja, who was close to Jogdhankar, was upset with his proximity to Padalkar at the party. This led to an argument, following which she was assaulted and sustained 48 injuries, before being found dead on the ground floor of the building where the party was taking place, said the police.
In June 2021, a sessions court granted bail to Padalkar and rejected the same for Jogdhankar, prompting him to approach the Bombay High Court. A single-judge bench of Justice Bharati H Dangre rejected Jogdhankar’s bail plea.
