Khar Horror: Was victim sexually assaulted?

Guests from the party at Khar Police Station on Saturday. Pics/Sayyed Sameer Abedi

The Khar Police investigating the murder of a 19-year-old woman at Bhagwati Heights on 14th Road, Khar West, during a New Year's Eve party, say that they found the deceased's body in a partially clothed state. Vaginal swabs have been sent for forensic examination. Cops have also taken blood and urine samples of the accused and others present at the party to verify if any drugs had been used. Meanwhile, on Saturday afternoon, Khar police produced the two accused-Shree Jogdhankar and Diya Padalkar-before the Bandra Magistrate Court, which granted police custody till January 7.

Accused Shree Jogdhankar (face covered in blanket) was presented before the Bandra Magistrate Court on Saturday and he, along with Diya Padaklar, was sent to police custody until January 7

In the remand application, which mid-day accessed, the police mentioned that there were scratches all over the 19-year-old's body. They are investigating if others present at the party had any role to play in either the assault or the murder. The police initially believed that the motive behind the murder could be a love triangle, as the deceased is said to have been in love with Jogdhankar and the two had been dating for the last three years. The deceased, it is said, was upset that Jogdhankar and Padalkar, her neighbour, were getting intimate at the party, which was attended by around 14 persons.

Diya Padalkar

Speaking about the sexual assault, a senior officer who didn't wish to be named, said, "This [a vaginal swab examination] is a normal SOP which is followed when a woman's body is found under such circumstances [i.e. partially clothed]. We will wait for the report before reaching any conclusion."

Shree Jogdhankar

As per the remand application presented before the Bandra court, the police mentioned that the victim was found on the ground floor of the building near the stairs, wearing a black dress." When the officer reached the spot, he saw that she was in a pool of blood, a clutch of hair was seen next to her body, her footwear was on the stairs. There were injuries on her head, scratches on her hands, palms, knees, back, ankle and on her both legs (sic)," the remand application stated. mid-day has withheld from publishing certain details which indicate that there may have been a sexual assault. Police say that the partially clothed state could have been the result of the scuffle or a sexual assault. And so, they are not saying anything conclusive about this yet. The remand application also mentioned that Jogdhankar has injuries on his hand and head, while Padalkar has injuries on her lips. According to police, the initial postmortem report said that the deceased died due to a head injury.

'Padalkar had blood on lips'

According to Khar Police, the cops investigating the case have recorded the statement of 12 persons present at the party. Four important statements have been mentioned in the remand application produced before the Bandra court, which sought police custody for Jogdhankar and Padalkar.

A 22-year-old woman present at the party said another guest told her that she saw the deceased and Jogdhankar on the terrace in a corner, getting intimate. After some time Padalkar, who is said to have been inebriated, went to a sofa and slept on it. Jogdhankar, as per the statement, then sat next to her and then he and Padalkar are said to have become intimate. At this, the deceased is said to have disconnected her phone from the projector.

The second statement, of another 22-year-old woman, says that she saw Padalkar at the host, Yash Ahuja's, bedroom at around 1.30 am. The third statement, of a 20-year-old man, puts the victim and Jogdhankar on the terrace, getting close. He says that he then went to Ahuja's home in a lift, where he saw Padalkar wiping blood from her lips in the bathroom.

The fourth statement is of a 23-year-old man, who said Padalkar liked Jogdhankar and that at 1.15 am he saw her vomiting on the terrace. So he, along with another guest and the deceased, took her to Ahuja's home in the lift, to help her clean up. Then, he went to the terrace, and after some time spotted the victim and Jogdhankar. Later, when he went to Ahuja's home, he saw Padalkar wiping blood from her lips.

In the remand application, police have mentioned that after seeing Padalkar and Jogdhankar getting close, the victim called a 19-year-old friend, saying while she did not like what she saw, she loved Jogdhankar and so, couldn't leave him.

Dragged from second floor?

A senior officer, speaking to mid-day, said, "Investigation has revealed that the victim was assaulted on the second floor by the duo, and then dragged by her hair to the ground floor. Blood stains on the floor, stairs and railing corroborate this."

Police have found that no argument between the three-the deceased, Jogdhankar and Padalkar-took place on the terrace. While there are witnesses who saw Jogdhankar and Padalkar get close, and the victim being upset by this, no one saw the trio fight or the deceased being assaulted. "The only witnesses we have-the ones who know exactly what happened on the second floor and how the victim died-are those who have been arrested. But, they are saying they aren't aware what exactly happened as they were drunk. Others present at the party are giving contradicting statements."

According to sources, Jogdhankar said that he doesn't even remember how he reached Sion hospital to get his wounds treated. The police has said that in CCTV footage, they have found him leaving the building in torn clothes after the incident.

'Don't make her into Rhea'

Jogdhankar's lawyers argued before the Bandra court that, as the police have mentioned that the statements have been recorded, forensic evidence has been collected, in this case police custody is not required and, as the accused is seriously injured, he needs proper medical treatment. On the other hand, Padalkar's lawyer argued, "Diya was only trying to stop the deceased and the other accused, Shree, from fighting. She was trying to calm the two of them. The nature of the news reporting is indicating that this is going to be another case of media trial and maligning of the image of those associated with the matter. That the nature of the news reporting and media trial indicates that this case can also be converted into a Sushant Singh case and Diya will end up meeting the same fate of a media trial as Rhea Chakraborty".

12-14
Approximate number of guests at the party