TW// MURDER, DEATH
Hours after celebrating her father's birthday, a 19-year-old student of human psychology was found in a pool of blood in a building in Khar after she went to celebrate New Year's Eve with her friends on the terrace.
Hours after celebrating her father's birthday, a 19-year-old student of human psychology was found in a pool of blood in a building in Khar after she went to celebrate New Year's Eve with her friends on the terrace.
The year 2021 has begun on an extremely sad note for the Kukrejas who woke up to the news of the brutal killing of their 19-year-old daughter Jhanvi Kukreja on January 1 (Friday). The teenager was found murdered in cold blood on the ground floor of a residential building on 15th Road in Khar in the early hours of Friday. Jhanvi, a resident of Mumbai and a psychology student from Jai Hind College was allegedly pushed from the 15th floor of a building named Bhagwati Heights in suburban Khar where she had gone to attend a New Year’s Eve party.
Jhanvi had attended the party with two of her best friends- Shree Jodhankar (24) and Diya Padankar (19) who are the prime accused in the case. It is believed that a heated exchange of arguments between the trio had led to Jhanvi’s brutal killing.
Jhanvi’s mother, Nidhi Kukreja claimed that Jhanvi had seen Shree and Diya in a compromising position at the party, following which an argument broke out between them. The claims say the argument turned into a physical fight in which Jhanvi was killed.
Nidhi refuted rumors that there was any ‘love triangle’ between Jhanvi and the accused Shree Jogdhankar and Diya Padankar. She said that the accused were her friends. “Shree and Jhanvi were not dating. They were excellent friends, and Shree had visited our house a couple of times as well. All the three kids, Diya, Shree, and Jahnvi, had a very good relationship as friends,” Jahnvi’s mother said.
Jhanvi’s mother furthered that Diya was like a daughter to her. “Diya is our immediate neighbor and she was like a daughter to me. Diya used to be at our house almost every day, eating, drinking, sleeping… just like my own daughter,” said Nidhi. However, she said that Diya’s parents have not spoken to her since the incident.
As per the autopsy report, a skull fracture was said to be the cause of her death. Reports also suggest that Jhanvi’s injuries were homicidal and not accidental. It is revealed that the deceased was brutally beaten approximately around 2.30 am. Her body showed injury marks on the hip and thighs. “These injuries indicate that Kukreja was badly beaten with an intention of killing her,” said an officer from Khar police station in Mumbai. As per reports, it was around 6 am that the murder was discovered.
The Khar police, investigating the case, arrested Shree Jodhankar and Diya Padankar on January 2 (Saturday). They have been charged under section 302 (murder) and 323 (assault) of the IPC. According to reports, Shree fractured his ribs and suffered injuries on his hands. He is currently admitted to the hospital. Once discharged, cops will take him under custody. Police are yet to figure out how Shree suffered injuries, however, they opined that Shree might have also had a fall during the scuffle.
Khar Police are most likely to ask for extended custody of the two youths arrested. Police claim that the prime accused, Shree Jogdankar Who had mysteriously sustained injuries during the incident, had been at the hospital for treatment, due to which police couldn’t interrogate him. While Diya has started slowly revealing what had happened that night, police said that her statements are not reliable as she was withholding information for the first two days.
The Khar Police have been recording detailed statements of all the party attendees to ascertain the sequence of events of that fateful night. It has been reported that the forensic experts would be recreating the scene to probe all angles in the case. Since there are no direct eyewitnesses, the cops will mainly focus on circumstantial evidence to nail Jhanvi’s killers.
Jhanvi’s phone call records reveal that shortly before her murder, she had called up two of her friends and told one of them that she feared Padalkar planned to “do something to herself”. She had been allegedly sobbing while speaking to this friend of hers. Police said that they will be recording the statement of the friend she spoke to.
Meanwhile, the parents of the deceased teenager met the Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh on January 5 (Tuesday) morning, requesting him to fast-track the investigation and bring justice to their daughter.
“The friends took my daughter for a party and they did not even have the decency to call and tell us about what happened. I got a call at 5 am while my daughter had died at 2.15 am. She was lying in a pool of blood but nobody came to her rescue. She could have been saved had someone taken her to the hospital,” said Nidhi Kukreja, Jhanvi’s mother.
Weeping outside the Khar police station, Nidhi stated: “My daughter had such a bright future. She was planning to study abroad. Now she is no more, just hours after celebrating her father’s birthday.”
She added that she has full faith in the law and judicial system, and believes they will help provide her daughter with justice.
investigation and all the other necessary procedures.
And as limited there is to say about what might happen, it does open our eyes to the fact that humanity in today's world is nothing but a hoax, and not so far behind in the list is trust.
We were prepared in school and by our parents about the 'Stranger -Danger' factor, but who was going to warn us about our friends, family, significant others and etc, Who was going to tell us that not only are unknown places unsafe but also places where everyone is close to you?
Jhanvi's heartbreaking case only opens our eyes to the creeps, brutes, and sickening humans our society possesses these days and all we can do is ...
well in reality what can we do now? that's the real question
Research and writing - Hrishita Dev
Editor - Priyam Kusundal
Illustrator - Shaina Rahman
Graphics - Ankitha Ganesan
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