Vijayawada/Mumbai: The family of S. Esther Anuhya, who was raped and murdered in Mumbai last year, wants the government to take positive steps to stop crimes against women.
Chandrabhan Sanap, who had raped and killed Esther in the Mumbai suburbs on January 5, 2014 was convicted on Tuesday by a Mumbai court. His sentence will be announced on Wednesday.
Esther’s father Mr S.J.S. Prasad, a professor in Machilipatnam said, “We are not for any specific punishment for the convict but it should teach such criminals a lesson and also ensure that crimes against women are reduced.”
“Police produced all evidences that Sanap was the killer and we are satisfied with the judgment,” he added.
Mr Abdul Wahed, a childhood friend of Esther’s, said, “Any sort of punishment will not bring back Esther. If a punishment is given, it has to be such that no one dares to do it again”.
“At last after 21 months the killer has been convicted by the Court. From the time Anuhya went missing to till date, everything was delayed. Improper response of police since day one caused this delay,” he added.
On January 4, 2014, Esther Anuhya, a native of Machilipatnam had boarded a train to Mumbai after her Christmas holidays. When she reached reaching Mumbai at 5 am on January 5, Sanap had offered to drop her on his motorcycle. He, however, raped, killed and burnt her body on a roadside.
Her body had been found in a decomposed state on January 16 by her relatives and members of an NGO who had launched a search for her assuming that she had been kidnapped.
Later, the Mumbai police had questioned several persons including Esther’s friends. They had pinpointed Sanap as the accused thanks to CCTV footage.
Scientific test nails Sanap’s involvement
The identity of Hyderabad-based techie Esther Anu-hya was confirmed by the DNA test as samples taken from the bones and teeth matched with that of Anuhya’s father confirming the deceased as Anuhya.
Later, the police arrested Chandrabhan Sanap for killing her. It was also claimed in the court that Sanap had taken his friend Nandkishore Sahu’s motorcycle and did not come back.
He consumed liquor before committing the crime and the deceased’s bag was also recovered from the accused, which proves his involvement in the murder.
Advocate Thakre also claimed that reports of scientific tests also confirm Sanap’s involvement in the murder.
