A series of corroborative evidence helped the prosecution seal the fate of the accused in the Priti Rathi murder case, even though he had taken enough care to keep his face covered while targeting her.
The prosecution relied on the call data records of accused Ankur Panwar to show that he followed Rathi from Delhi and travelled in the same train to reach Mumbai. The prosecution also relied upon medical evidence to show that Panwar himself received small burn injuries on his hand while hurling sulphuric acid on the victim, and the man who had sold him the acid was also called as a witness.
Priti’s father Amarsingh, a cancer patient, and her brother Hitesh attended the court proceedings and said that Panwar should be awarded the capital punishment as he deserved it.
Panwar’s mother Kailash, who was also present in the court, said her son had been falsely implicated in the case and the truth would come out if the investigation was handed over to the CBI. Earlier, the victim’s father Amarsingh had also filed a petition in the Bombay high court seeking to transfer the investigation to the CBI and, considering the seriousness of the crime, the court had transferred the investigation from the railway police to the Mumbai crime branch.
The police had studied CCTV footage and messages sent and received by Rathi and, following this, the police had zeroed in on the accused on suspicion. During interrogation, Panwar had accepted committing the crime, following which he was chargesheeted after further investigation.
