Police file charge sheet in Vile Parle physiotherapist's murder

The Vile Parle Police on Friday filed a 654-page charge sheet in the rape and murder case of a 24-year-old physiotherapist who was found unclothed and strangled in her own house in December last year.

In January, the police arrested Debashish Dhar, 24, from his hometown in West Midnapore district in West Bengal.

Nine forensic laboratory reports including four DNA sample reports of Dhar that have been matched with DNA samples collected from the body of the victim, postmortem report of the victim, a comb recovered from the crime scene, blood- stained clothes, two CCTV footage reports, a forensic report of the crime scene along with a confessional statement from Dhar have been highlighted in the charge sheet as the main evidence.

The police have also attached statements of 19 witnesses. "The reports on DNA samples matching, and Dhar's confession would be sufficient to prove his guilt in the court. Apart from that, we also have added statements of his four co-workers, the owner of a jewellery shop where he worked, his two relatives, and three vegetable sellers with whom he can be seen talking on the day of the crime in CCTV footage. There are also CCTV grabs from two cameras situated few meters away from the victim's house to prove that the accused was near the victim's house at the time of the murder and he had the habit of peeping into homes to watch women," said a police officer privy to the investigation.

On December 6, 2016, a 24-year-old physiotherapist was found allegedly raped and murdered at her Vile Parle home. The body was naked and the woman was strangulated using her pair of jeans. The assailant had set the house on fire before fleeing, in a bid to destroy the evidence.