At first, the police registered a case against unidentified persons, but soon began to hunt for the convicted trio — Nazir Shaikh (21), Raju alias Rajava Jaiswal (21) and Milind alias Mindiya Tayade (21) — after locals testified they had often been seen harassing the woman and snatching money from her. The three were also residents of Ghatkopar and were all involved in scrap dealing.

According to the prosecution, the three got drunk on the night of December 31, 2013 (New Year’s Eve) and then raped and murdered the victim. Public Prosecutor Kalpana Hire examined 13 witnesses in the case. One witness told the court that he had often seen one of the accused lying down next to the deceased woman, harassing her.

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A police official attached to the case said, “After the offence, the accused went into hiding but they were arrested three days later. We also presented a witness who told court that all the three accused had been drinking at a bar the same day.” According to the defence, “The conviction was based on bloodstains on the clothes found in the house of the accused, which matched with the blood found on the stone used to hit the woman.”

The special women’s court judge, A S Shende sentenced all three accused to life imprisonment under Section 376 (D) (gang rape), 302 (murder), 377 (unnatural offence), 397 (robbery with attempt to cause death or grievous hurt) and 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the IPC.