We approach this honorable court under Section 21 of the
BHARTIYA NYAYA SURAKSHA SANHITA which thereof provides
that every offence shall ordinarily be inquired into and tried by a
Court within whose local jurisdiction it was committed. The
accused, Dhiraj Vora, stands charged under Section 103 of the
Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), which addresses punishment
to murder.
I stand before you today, not merely as a representative of the law,
but as the voice of Ishika Sawant, a daughter, a sister, a dreamer, a
person full of life—was brutally taken from this world. And now, it
is our duty to speak for her, to ensure her death is not just another
statistic in the pages of crime.
A girl barely in her twenties, her whole future ahead of her. She
had dreams, she had love, and she had hope. But what she also
had was fear—fear instilled by the very man who once promised
to love and protect her. like many relationships, theirs was far
from perfect. Over time, what once was love turned into torment,
and Ishika found herself in the shadows of fear and distress. For
nearly a year, she had separated from Dhiraj, yet his calls and
threats never stopped. He wanted her back, and he made that very
clear.
On June 30, 2024, Ishika received one of those calls. Despite the
past, despite the threats, she chose to meet him that evening. We
don’t know exactly what went through her mind—perhaps a
glimmer of hope that things would change. But tragically, Ishika
never returned home. Hours later, her lifeless body was found,
lying in a pool of blood near a deserted road, 54 wounds inflicted
on her fragile frame. The pain she must have endured, the fear
she must have felt—those moments haunt her family to this day.
We will present—our first witness who will tell you about the
continuous harassment and torment Ishika faced from Dhiraj. He
not only hounded Ishika but even went after her younger sister
Sheetal, adding a layer of psychological terror to his already
violent threats. AND Rahul Sharma our --Second Witness—who
saw a man running away from the scene, a man of similar
height and build to Dhiraj. While the lighting was poor and the
witness could not see the face clearly, the timing and
circumstances are suspicious. This man, whoever he was, fled the
scene where Ishika lay dying.
But we won’t ask you to rely solely on emotion. The forensic
evidence speaks loudly—The physical evidence, including
Dhiraj’s fingerprints on the murder weapon, will be
presented before you., the post-mortem report, and the
witness testimony of a man running from the scene. While we
may not point fingers right now, these pieces of evidence will lead
you to the truth.
as we present the facts in this trial, I urge you to listen carefully.
The evidence—the knife found near her body, the fingerprints
on that weapon, the multiple injuries she sustained—will all be
laid before you. These are not just pieces of information; they are
parts of a story that needs to be told.
Dhiraj claims he was at his uncle’s butcher shop on the night of
the murder. His defense will rely on this alibi, and we respect the
need to consider it. However, it is important to understand that
there are gaps in this narrative, and the prosecution will ask you
to consider whether these gaps raise more questions than
answers.
The pursuit of justice is never easy. It requires us to sift through
the pain, the emotions, and the facts, and to make decisions based
on what is right and what is just. We stand here today not just to
seek a verdict, but to seek truth for Ishika. She is not with us to
tell her side of the story, but through the evidence, through the
testimony, we will give her a voice.
