Three years after 24-year-old nursing graduate Preeti Amarsingh Rathi from New Delhi died of acid burns, a special court on Tuesday convicted her neighbour Ankur Panwar for killing her and injuring her family members, after she rejected his marriage proposal and came to Mumbai to take up a nursing job.
Additional Sessions Judge AS Shende, who presides over a special women’s court, held 27-year-old Panwar guilty of charges framed against him under sections 302(murder) and section 326 B(causing grievous hurt by dangerous weapons or means) of the IPC and convicted the latter in the case.
On Wednesday, the special court will hear arguments from both sides before pronouncing the verdict in the case.
Talking to mediapersons after the special court convicted Panwar in the case, Preeti’s father Amarsingh Rathi said: “Saza-e-maut milni chaniye (he must get capital punishment)”. He (Panwar) has no right to live. He committed the most heinous crime. We have lost our daughter and everything”.
Preeti — who had suffered on her face and hands after an unidentified miscreant hurled acid on her when she arrived here on May 2, 2013 from the national capital along with her family members to take up a job–died at the Bombay Hospital here on June 1, 2013.
Preeti, who had arrived in the city along with her father, sister and other family members to join the Colaba Naval Hospital ‘INS Ashwini’ as a staff nurse, awaited a shock, as she arrived at Bandra railway station from Delhi by Garib Rath Express. A miscreant who —who had covered his face with a handkerchief – threw acid at her and her other family members and ran away.
In its order, the Special Court held Panwar guilty of causing the death of Preeti, but it also convicted him under section 326-B of the IPC for causing burns to the victim woman’s family members Amarsingh (56, Sunita Vinodkumar Dahiya (35), Sudeshakumari D Singh(24) and Sameer Shaikh (22).
The investigations revealed that Panwar, whom the police arrested within weeks after the incident, had followed Preeti to Mumbai. The attack was a fall-out of unrequited love. Preeti had not only spurned love expressed by Panwar, but she had also rejected outright the latter’s proposal to marry her. The investigators had produced 300-odd SMSes sent by Panwar to the victim woman.
“The convict had a one-sided love affair with the victim. He asked Preeti not to go to Mumbai, but the girl had rejected her marriage proposal. Out of jealousy, he attacked her with acid, which he purchased from Delhi and followed her to Mumbai,” Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam said.
Preeti was initially undergoing treatment for her burn wounds at Masina Hospital at Byculla in south Mumbai. After she developed complications, she was shifted to Bombay Hospital, New Marine lines, on May 18,, 2013 for advanced treatment.
Preeti, whose right lung had collapsed and the left one was partially functional after acid made its way to her esophagus, windpipe and trachea, turned critical, after she developed several complications. The doctors were planning to conduct a corrective surgery on her that they dropped at the last minute owing to excessive internal bleeding.
The Prosecution examined 37 witnesses, including five eye witnesses and 11 doctors, in its effort to nail Panwar for the heinous crime committed by him.
Defence lawyer Apeksha Vora argued that Rathi had died due to medical negligence, while his client Panwar had been falsely implicated in the case.