MUMBAI, Feb. 1 -- Five years after 19-year-old Santacruz resident Jhanvi Kukreja was murdered at a New Year's Eve party, the Sessions Court on Saturday awarded a life sentence to Shree Ambadas Jogdhankar, 26, for the barbaric murder. The court, however, acquitted the co-accused and victim's childhood friend, Diya Padalkar, 24, for want of cogent evidence. Additional Sessions Judge SR Navendar pronounced the operative part of the judgement. The court convicted Jogdhankar, holding that the prosecution had proved a complete chain of circumstantial evidence that pointed to his guilt and sentenced him to life imprisonment. While acquitting Padalkar, the court said the prosecution had failed to establish her involvement beyond reasonable doubt. Kukreja had attended the party at Bhagwati Heights in Khar along with her friends, Padalkar and Jogdhankar. In the early hours of January 1, 2021, her body was discovered in the staircase, lying in a pool of blood, According to the prosecution, the party had been hosted by a common friend, Yash Ahuja. It was also the birthday of Jhanvi's father, Prakash. After celebrating his birthday at Kukreja's Santacruz home, Kukreja, Padalkar and Jogdhankar left for the new year party at Bhagwati Heights. Kukreka would never return home. Police claimed that, during the party, Kukreja noticed Jogdhankar getting close to Padalkar, who was also her next-door neighbour and childhood friend. Their physical proximity upset Kukreja and an argument broke out. The argument soon escalated into a fight and the three youngsters moved towards the staircase, where the accused brutally assaulted the 19-year-old and dragged her down the stairs. At around 2.00am, when Ahuja climbed down the stairs to go home, he noticed Kukreja lying in a pool of blood in the staircase, with injuries all over her body. He informed the police and Kukreja was taken to Bhabha Hospital, where she was declared dead. The post mortem report revealed that she had suffered 48 injuries, including a fractured skull - indicating the brutality of the crime. Both Jogdhankar and Padalkar were arrested on January 1, 2021 itself. Six months later, Padalkar was granted bail by the Sessions Court, on June 25, , whereas Jogdhankar failed to secure bail and has since been lodged at Taloja Jail. The prosecution examined 49 witnesses to establish the guilt of the accused. As there was no eyewitness to the murder, the prosecution's case relied primarily on circumstantial and forensic evidence, which proved that both Jogdhankar and Padalkar were present at the scene of crime, when it was committed. The court accepted the prosecution's evidence against Jogdhankar, holding that the prosecution was able to establish his guilt beyond reasonable doubt. The court rejected his defence, that the case rested only on suspicion and conjecture, holding that the circumstantial evidence formed an unbroken chain inconsistent with innocence. It noted that Jogdhankar failed to offer a credible explanation for the circumstances in which Kukreja sustained fatal injuries inside the building shortly after being last seen with him. At the same time, the court acquitted Padalkar, observing that the prosecution had not produced cogent material to show her participation in the assault or any common intention to commit the crime. Mere presence at the party, the court held, could not substitute for proof of involvement in the offence. Jogdhankar has been in custody since 2021. His bail pleas had been rejected, including by the Bombay High Court, which had flagged the gravity of the allegations and the material collected by the prosecution....