Mumbai: The mother of murder victim Jhanvi Kukreja has moved Bombay high court against the acquittal of her daughter’s friend, Diya Padalkar, in the case. The incident in 2021 took place following a New Year’s Eve party on the terrace of a Khar West building.On January 31, a sessions court convicted and sentenced 26-year-old Shree Jogdhankar to life imprisonment for the murder of his friend Jhanvi (then aged 19), but acquitted 24-year-old Padalkar giving her the “benefit of doubt” and cleared her of all charges.In her March 21 appeal in the HC filed through advocate Trivankumar Karnani, Jhanvi’s mother Niddhi Kukreja claimed that the trial court erred in appreciating evidence against Padalkar despite her alleged presence at the crime spot. Jhanvi, a psychology student who lived in Santacruz, was found in a pool of blood on the ground floor of Bhagwati Heights in Khar West on the morning of January 1, 2021. It was alleged that Jhanvi was dragged down the stairs from the fifth floor after a fight allegedly broke out among the trio over Jogdhankar’s intimacy with Padalkar. A post-mortem report revealed Jhanvi had suffered 48 injuries.The HC will hear Niddhi’s appeal in due course.
