1,322-page charge sheet filed against accused
Ankur Panwar, who broke down and confessed when cops narrated details to his mother, faces life in jail or even death.
On January 21 this year, when the police accompanied by Ankur Panwar knocked on the door of his Government Colony residence in New Delhi and told his mother, “This is what your son has done”, he couldn’t take the pressure any longer.
As the cops narrated the horrific details of the May 2013 incident, Panwar broke down before his mother and confessed to the acid attack on Preeti Rathi, that eventually led to her death.
Preeti, 22, had been attacked with acid minutes after she and her family got off a train at Bandra Terminus around 8 am on May 2, 2013. She had landed a nursing job with the Navy, and had been asked to report to INS Aswini at Colaba.
In the charge sheet, the police have cited jealousy as the motive behind the murder. They said that Panwar, 22, was constantly being pushed to match the career accomplishments of Preeti, also 22 and a neighbour of his in Delhi. They also said that Panwar liked Preeti, but she did not reciprocate his feelings. This, coupled with the fact that she was faring far better than him, led him to take the drastic step.
Panwar has been charged under Section 302 (murder), 326-a (causing permanent or partial damage and disability) and 326-b (throwing acid on a person) of the IPC. He faces life imprisonment or the death penalty.
The Crime Branch cited Preeti’s uncle, Vinod Dehdiya, 43, as an eyewitness to the incident. In his statement to the police, Dehiya said that the family left Delhi by train for Mumbai on May 1. When he woke to use the washroom around 4.30 am, a man was standing there holding a red plastic bag and yellow can. Dehdiya asked the man where he would be getting off and was told “the last stop”.
When the family got off at Bandra Terminus, a man wearing a cap and with his face covered by a handkerchief threw something on his niece’s face and began to flee. As people screamed and Dehdiya chased the man, his cap and handkerchief fell off. But, on realising that his wife was also hurt Dehdiya gave up the chase. Besides Preeti, her father, friend and aunt were also hurt in the acid attack.
Two other witnesses - among a total of 98 - mentioned in the charge sheet are Panwar’s mother and Mukesh Bhargav, a chemical trader in Delhi from whom the acid was allegedly purchased.
Panwar’s mother said she had heard of the incident and knew the police were looking for the culprit in Delhi. In her statement to Crime Branch she said the police came to her house on January 16, 2014, and Panwar was arrested the next day.
She further said that the cops then again brought Panwar to their home on January 21, and while they were telling her what he had done, he broke down and confessed to the crime. In the charge sheet the cops said they had gone there to search the house but recovered nothing.
Bhargav said he remembered Panwar because the latter came to purchase two litres of sulphuric acid, telling him that he had started charging and selling batteries in a place called Kundali. After the attack, Preeti was first taken to Bhabha Hospital in Bandra and later to Masina Hospital, but died a month later.
On January 21 this year, when the police accompanied by Ankur Panwar knocked on the door of his Government Colony residence in New Delhi and told his mother, “This is what your son has done”, he couldn’t take the pressure any longer.
As the cops narrated the horrific details of the May 2013 incident, Panwar broke down before his mother and confessed to the acid attack on Preeti Rathi, that eventually led to her death.
This is what the Crime Branch said in the 1,322-page charge sheet, filed against Panwar in the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate’s Court at Azad Maidan on Wednesday.
Preeti, 22, had been attacked with acid minutes after she and her family got off a train at Bandra Terminus around 8 am on May 2, 2013. She had landed a nursing job with the Navy, and had been asked to report to INS Aswini at Colaba.
In the charge sheet, the police have cited jealousy as the motive behind the murder. They said that Panwar, 22, was constantly being pushed to match the career accomplishments of Preeti, also 22 and a neighbour of his in Delhi. They also said that Panwar liked Preeti, but she did not reciprocate his feelings. This, coupled with the fact that she was faring far better than him, led him to take the drastic step.
Panwar has been charged under Section 302 (murder), 326-a (causing permanent or partial damage and disability) and 326-b (throwing acid on a person) of the IPC. He faces life imprisonment or the death penalty.
The Crime Branch cited Preeti’s uncle, Vinod Dehdiya, 43, as an eyewitness to the incident. In his statement to the police, Dehiya said that the family left Delhi by train for Mumbai on May 1. When he woke to use the washroom around 4.30 am, a man was standing there holding a red plastic bag and yellow can. Dehdiya asked the man where he would be getting off and was told “the last stop”.
When the family got off at Bandra Terminus, a man wearing a cap and with his face covered by a handkerchief threw something on his niece’s face and began to flee. As people screamed and Dehdiya chased the man, his cap and handkerchief fell off. But, on realising that his wife was also hurt Dehdiya gave up the chase. Besides Preeti, her father, friend and aunt were also hurt in the acid attack.
Two other witnesses - among a total of 98 - mentioned in the charge sheet are Panwar’s mother and Mukesh Bhargav, a chemical trader in Delhi from whom the acid was allegedly purchased.
Panwar’s mother said she had heard of the incident and knew the police were looking for the culprit in Delhi. In her statement to Crime Branch she said the police came to her house on January 16, 2014, and Panwar was arrested the next day.
She further said that the cops then again brought Panwar to their home on January 21, and while they were telling her what he had done, he broke down and confessed to the crime. In the charge sheet the cops said they had gone there to search the house but recovered nothing.
Bhargav said he remembered Panwar because the latter came to purchase two litres of sulphuric acid, telling him that he had started charging and selling batteries in a place called Kundali. After the attack, Preeti was first taken to Bhabha Hospital in Bandra and later to Masina Hospital, but died a month later.
