Preeti Rathi acid attack/murder case: Ankur Panwar convicted for murder by Mumbai court

Mumbai: A sessions court here on Tuesday held Ankur Panwar guilty in 2013 Preeti Rathi acid attack/murder case.

The court convicted Panwar under IPC sections 302 and 326 B.

The quantum of sentence for the convict will be pronounced by the Mumbai sessions court tomorrow.

On May 2, 2013, acid was flung on Rathi when she got down from Garib Rath Express at the Bandra Railway Terminus in Mumbai.

She was supposed to join Colaba Naval hospital INS Ashwini as a staff nurse. Having suffered severe damage to her lungs, she succumbed to the injuries on June 1 at the Bombay Hospital.

Ankur Panwar, a hotel management graduate, was a neighbour of victim Rathi and resided in Bhakra Beas Management Board Colony. He was earlier arrested from Delhi.

He had confessed to the crime saying that he hated her career growth.

The reason for this extreme step the accused cited was that his parents often mocked him for not getting a job despite having completed his course and praised his neighbour Rathi saying she had got hold of a good job in Indian Navy. Because of this, Ankur was very jealous of her and had been looking for an opportunity to severely harm her in a bid to deface her so that her career gets destroyed.