victim’s 70-year-old father said “My entire family is in disbelief. All the fight we put up for justice over the last 10 years has gone in vain. I am tired and do not have the kind of strength I used to have. This verdict is like a punishment for me. I do not want to comment on it. I leave it to God.”
Vijayawada: The family of a young techie from Machilipatnam, who was murdered in Mumbai in 2014, is devastated after the Supreme Court acquitted Chandraban Sanap, who was on death row. The victim’s father, a retired professor, expressed his deep sorrow and disbelief over the verdict, which reversed the previous rulings of the lower courts.
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Family’s Reaction: ‘All Our Fight for Justice Has Gone in Vain’
The victim’s 70-year-old father, struggling to hold back his emotions, told media,
“My entire family is in disbelief. All the fight we put up for justice over the last 10 years has gone in vain. I am tired and do not have the kind of strength I used to have. This verdict is like a punishment for me. I do not want to comment on it. I leave it to God.”
Recounting the pain and trauma his family has endured for the past decade, he said that he often breaks down remembering his daughter, who was just 23 years old when she was murdered.
He recalled how she unknowingly went to Lokmanya Tilak Terminus and never returned. “She had never been to Lokmanya Tilak Terminus before.”
‘Never Imagined He’d Be Acquitted’
With his voice trembling with grief, he said, “She went there without knowing where she was landing… and left forever.” The retired political science professor said he is struggling to understand how the Supreme Court could have reversed the conviction.
“I do not find fault with the police or investigation. Though police were complacent initially, they did a great job in establishing the case by collecting all the evidence, material and circumstantial,” he said.
The father further elaborated on the strong evidence presented in the case.
“Police collected CCTV footage of the accused (Sanap) going with her at the railway station. They recovered my daughter’s belongings from his house. He narrated the sequence of events, and how he committed the offence. Most importantly, he admitted to the offence not only to the police but also before the magistrate in the trial court.”
Expressing his confusion over the Supreme Court’s decision, he said, “When the evidence was sufficient for the trial court to convict the accused and the high court to uphold the verdict, I don’t know what happened in the Supreme Court.” He speculated that the prosecution may not have presented the case effectively.
“After coming to know about his appeal in the Supreme Court, we thought his sentence might be commuted to life but we never in our wildest dreams imagined he would be acquitted. If he is innocent, then who is the culprit? Now, after 10 years, how will justice be served? These questions will haunt all my family members forever,” he added.
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Supreme Court Verdict
On 28th Jan the Supreme Court of India has acquitted Chandrabhan Sudam Sanap, a man who was on death row since 2015 for the rape and murder of a 23-year-old techie, Esther Anuhya, in 2014.
The judgment was delivered by a Bench comprising Justice BR Gavai, Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra, and Justice KV Viswanathan.
The Court ruled that the evidence presented by the prosecution was insufficient to sustain the conviction. Highlighting the flaws in the prosecution’s case, the Bench stated, “All the facts show that there is a gaping hole in the prosecution story and there is more than meets the eye.”
Declaring the accused not guilty, the Court ordered, “We hold appellant is not guilty of offence. Appellant to be set free. He is not guilty. He is acquitted.”
Background
Esther Anuhya, a 23-year-old software engineer working at Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) in Goregaon, Mumbai, hailed from Machilipatnam, Andhra Pradesh. According to the prosecution’s case, she had been kidnapped, raped, and murdered by the accused. It was further alleged that Sanap burned her body at a secluded location near the Eastern Expressway to destroy evidence.
In 2018, the Bombay High Court had confirmed Sanap’s death sentence. The High Court observed that the crime warranted the death penalty, stating that such a person “would surely remain a menace to the society.”
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The trial court had also earlier awarded the death sentence, describing the crime as one committed with “extreme brutality” and in a “pre-planned and diabolical manner.”
The Supreme Court’s decision to set aside the conviction was based on its assessment of the evidence presented during the trial.
The Bench noted significant discrepancies in the prosecution’s story, emphasizing that it would be “extremely unsafe to sustain the conviction” under such circumstances.
