Khar murder case: Cops find first witness, who 'heard screaming'

In a significant development the Khar police found a resident at Bhagwanti Heights who heard the screams of a girl when 19yearold Jhanavi Kukreja was allegedly murdered during a New Yearrsquos Eve partyAccused Shree JogdhankarAnd in another major development which makes the policersquos job more challenging a forensic test by the Kalina Directorate Forensic Science Laboratories DFSL has returned inconclusive as no foreign DNA has been found in the nail clippings of the accused and on the Kukrejarsquos bodySources in the Mumbai police said ldquoThe DFSL report is inconclusive as no presence of any foreign DNA was found on the deceasedrsquos bodyrdquoThe accusedrsquos nail clippings were taken a day after the incident ldquoWe had taken nail clippings of every guest present at the party including the accused to get clarity on the involvement of people in the incidentrdquo an officer saidAs the entire case was dependent on circumstantial and forensic evidence the inconclusive DFSL report will play a major role in the caseAccused Diya PadalkarA senior Mumbai police officer said that the report has been sent to forensic experts at Cooper hospital for further analysis and opinion It is the same team that had conducted the autopsy on KukrejaldquoBefore concluding anything we will wait for a final opinion from the forensic expertsrdquo the officer saidThe development makes Khar policersquos job of investigating the murder and establishing the charges against accused Shree Jogdhankar and Diya Padalkar in court even more difficultDuring a forensic investigation at the crime scene 20 samples had been given for analysis to the DFSL The samples included blood hair nail clippings clothes of the accused the deceasedrsquos footwear and clothes earrings bracelet and rings and accused Padalkarrsquos ring found at the staircase of Bhagwanti Heights buildingExpert viewldquoDNA analysis plays an important role in the absence of witnesses There are many cases where police have got convictions based on DNA analysis reports Getting a conclusive report also depends on how and when the samples were takenrdquo senior forensic expert Dr Rukmani Krishnamurthy told middayJhanavi Kukrejarsquos parents Nidhi and Prakash outside the Commissioner of Policersquos office in South Mumbai in January File picShe added ldquoWhile I canrsquot comment on the specific case as I donrsquot have exact details generally when foreign DNA is not found it could mean that the victim did not get the chance to defend themselves or wasnrsquot in a position to do so Otherwise in most cases foreign DNA is always extracted from the nail clippings of the deceasedrdquoldquoPolice have the option of a lie detector and brain mapping test to get further leadsrdquo she saidCrucial witnessMeanwhile after knocking on every door at Bhagwanti Heights the police have also found one witness who heard Kukrejarsquos screams on the day of the incident ldquoHe heard the screams of a girl between 145 am and 215 am but thought that the kids are partying and it must be related to that and not something serious We have recorded his statement as supportive to the circumstantial evidencerdquo an officer saidSources also confirmed that the statement of a Hinduja Hospital doctor who treated Padalkarrsquos lip injury and the Sion hospital doctor who treated Jogdhankar have been recorded The police have determined that both lied to the doctors While Padalkar told the doctor that she fell down the stairs Jogdhankar said he was drunk and fell on the road20No of samples collected for forensic tests from crime scene