Janhvi Kukreja murder: Accused had a violent streak, says Mumbai Police

The two accused arrested for killing 19-year-old Janhvi Kukreja at a party on New Year’s Eve have been remanded in judicial custody on Thursday.

The two accused arrested for killing 19-year-old Janhvi Kukreja at a party on New Year’s Eve have been remanded in judicial custody on Thursday. The accused, Shree Jogdhankar and Diya Padalkar, were earlier remanded in police custody for 13 days. The investigating officer of the murder case told the court that Jogdhankar had a previous criminal case against him for assaulting a pan shop owner a few years ago, which proves that he had a streak of violence.

Janhvi Kukreja’s mother (left) urged the court to grant the police time for custodial interrogation. (HT File Photo)

According to statements of Jogdhankar’s friends, he was short-tempered and got into fights often. “One of Jogdhankar’s friends said in his statement that he was not shocked when Jogdhankar came with cuts on his body as he got into fights earlier too,” said a police officer.

Khar police had presented the post mortem report of Kukreja’s body stating that she had 48 wounds on her body including a skull fracture which led to her death. Officers suspect the railing on the staircase of the building was the weapon as the couple allegedly banged Kukreja’s head against it. The police have found blood stains on the railing. However, the forensic report is yet to confirm whether the blood was Kukreja’s.

The post mortem report further stated that Kukreja had injuries on her legs caused by dragging, and injures on her hip due to fisticuffs.

Advocate Trivankumar Karnani, for Kukreja’s parents, urged the court, “Maximum opportunity may be given to the police to complete custodial interrogation and we must not incapacitate them.”

“Accused no 1 Shree Jogdhankar will be sent to Taloja jail and accused no 2 Diya Padalkar has been sent to Byculla jail,” added Karnani.

Police sources also said that Yash Abuja, who had organised the party, had bought drugs from a supplier in Bandra for the party. The supplier was arrested by Khar police in a separate case with 150 grams of MD. “We are now waiting for medical reports of party attendees to confirm the consumption of drugs as we did not find any at the party or the murder spot,” added the officer.