The Bombay High Court has acquitted Debashish Dhara, who was sentenced to death for the rape and murder of a 24-year-old physiotherapist in Mumbai in 2016. The court set aside his conviction and death sentence and directed that he be released.
The case dates back to December 2016, when the physiotherapist was found dead at her residence in Vile Parle. According to the prosecution, Dhara entered the house during the night and raped the woman before allegedly strangling her with a pair of jeans.
The prosecution further alleged that after killing the woman, Dhara placed books around her body and set it on fire. The incident came to light after smoke was noticed coming from the room in the early hours of the morning. The victim’s father and a neighbour reportedly broke open the door and found her body.
During the investigation, police examined CCTV footage from the area and traced Dhara, who was working at a jewellery-making unit near the victim’s residence. He was arrested from West Bengal’s Medinipur district on January 28, 2017, nearly two months after the incident.
Police had relied on forensic evidence, including DNA samples, as part of the case against Dhara.
A sessions court subsequently convicted Dhara of murder, rape, unnatural sexual offences and house trespass and awarded him the death penalty in 2019. The trial court had held that the case fell under the “rarest of rare” category.
Dhara challenged the conviction and death sentence before the Bombay High Court. After hearing the appeal and examining the evidence, the High Court set aside the trial court’s verdict and acquitted him of the charges.
The court also cancelled the death sentence and ordered his release.
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