Hours before her murder at Khar’s New Years Eve party, a teenager had called her friends in tears

MUMBAI: Not long before her murder At the beginning of January 1, teenager Jhanvi Kukreja had called two of her friends separately, through tears. Police are now trying to piece together the sequence of events between these phone calls and the discovery of Kukreja’s body at 2.30pm.

Kukreja (19) was found murdered on the ground floor of Bhagwati Heights in Khar where he had gone to attend a New Years Eve party with Shree Jogdankar (22) and Diya Padalkar (18). The duo have been arrested. Police have not yet discovered how Jogdankar was injured.

Around 1.30 am, Kukreja called a friend and told her that she was afraid Padalkar was planning to “do something to herself.” He added that he was going to find Padalkar, who was together with Jogdankar at the time. As Kukreja sobbed, her friend offered to fix things with Padalkar. Soon after, Kukreja also called another friend, but did not reach him. The police will record the statement of the friend you spoke with.

“My daughter and Diya, our next door neighbor, have been together for 13 years,” said Kukreja’s mother, Nidhi. “Jhanvi was protective of Diya and guided her through her studies. Diya was like a family and the two girls had started cooking together professionally,” added Nidhi.

On December 31, Kukreja, Padalkar, and Jogdankar announced the new year at Padalkar’s apartment. The three of them then headed to Kukreja’s flat where they ate cake to celebrate their father’s birthday. “Jhanvi would never go to parties. She was moving to Australia for higher education next year and was very focused. But Diya and Shree begged to be allowed to accompany them to Bhagwati Heights, where a mutual friend had organized a party. Three others The girls from our society also went to the party. When we called Jhanvi later, she did not answer our call. Only around 5 in the morning, Diya’s father called my husband and said that the two girls had had an ‘accident’ and that we should rush to the Khar police station. No one else at the party informed us of his death either, “Nidhi said.

From Kukreja’s bag, the police have found a letter written by Padalkar to her that will form a crucial part of the evidence. “We are exploring two possibilities: either Kukreja was dragged down the stairs from the second floor to the ground floor or he was pushed. Blood stains and strands of hair have been found on the stairs. It appears that there was an altercation between the three of them,” he said A police officer. Around a dozen other teenagers who had attended the party are questioned daily at the Khar police station.