Esther Anuhya case: Final hearing on appeal to commence soon

The Bombay High Court will soon commence final hearing on an appeal by Chandrabhan Sanap, challenging the death penalty awarded to him by a special court last year in the Esther Anuhya rape and murder case.
A division bench headed by Justice V K Tahilramani today said it would fix a date most likely in March to commence final hearing in the case. The prosecution will start its argument first.
A special court had on October 30 last year convicted Sanap for raping and murdering 23-year-old Esther, a city- based techie, after picking her up from suburban Lokmanya Tilak Terminus under the pretext of dropping her at her hostel in Andheri.

The trial court had observed that the case falls under the category of 'rarest of rare'.
According to the prosecution, Esther, who hails from Andhra Pradesh, had returned to the city on January 5 last year after visiting her family in Machilipatnam.
Arriving at the Lokmanya Tilak Terminus in suburban Kurla, she met Sanap, who offered to drop her home in Andheri for Rs 300.

Sanap then raped and murdered her and tried to get rid of the body by dumping it in the bushes along the Eastern Express Highway in Bhandup.
After a search, Esther's family found her body on January 16. Sanap was arrested in March.

He was charged with murder, rape, kidnapping and other charges.
The state government has also filed a petition seeking confirmation of the death sentence which will be heard along with Sanap's appeal.