Supreme Court Verdict In Esther Anuhya Case: Her Father Reacts
Machilipatnam, Andhra Pradesh: The father of Esther Anuhya, 23-year-old techie hailing from Andhra Pradesh who got raped and killed in Mumbai, on Wednesday reacted to the Supreme Court acquitting Chandrabhan Sudam Sanap, his daughter’s alleged killer, saying “I leave it to God” and he cannot fight anymore.
The apex court on Tuesday, acquitted Sanap him of all charges after finding gaps in the prosecution’s story and added that the prosecution failed to establish its case about his culpability beyond reasonable doubt.
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Victim’s father Singavarapu Jonathan Surendra Prasad told PTI that they were not aware of what was happening and whatever happens, they will not be getting Anuhya back.
“What can we do? Actually, we were not aware of what was happening. We also do not know that he (Sanap) approached the Supreme Court. But what shall we do? I leave it to God and whatever happens, I will not be getting my daughter back,” Prasad said.
Prasad stated that he did not know what happened in the Supreme Court, the the district court, special court and women’s court convicted Sanap and the Bombay High Court upheld the verdict.
When he was asked, whether he wanted to pursue the case further as a review petition, the retired professor said that he cannot fight it anymore.
“No sir, I cannot do that. The problem is I am 70 plus. It is very difficult for me to move from my place. I am a retired man and my wife is not well, she is a diabetic. So, I don’t think I can approach at this age,” Prasad said.
Esther who was working in Mumbai, had returned to the city on January 5, 2014 after visiting her family in Machilipatnam. She arrived at the Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (LTT) in suburban Kurla early in the morning. According to police, she met Sanap, who pretending to be a taxi driver, offered to drop her at the hostel in Andheri for Rs. 300. Later, Sanap raped and murdered her at a secluded spot along the Eastern Express Highway in Bhandup. Further, she stole her luggage and disposed her body, police reports.
On January 17, Esther’s body in a burnt and decomposed state was found and police arrested Sanap on March 3, 2014 and in October 2015, the Sessions Court convicted him of death penalty citing it as ‘rarest of rare’ case. Subsequently, Sanap had approached the High Court against the death, but it upheld the Sessions Court verdict in December 2018.
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The top court on Tuesday observed that evidence submitted by the prosecution was insufficient to sustain the conviction. Addressing the shortcomings in the case, the Bench stated that “all the facts show that there is a gaping hole in the prosecution story and there is more than meets the eye.”
