MAPUSA
A GIM student accused of attacking a fellow student with a knife and chopper inside her hostel room has been denied bail, with the Additional Sessions Court-II, Mapusa, holding that there was prima facie material linking her to the September 5 assault.
Additional Sessions Judge Apurva Nagvenkar rejected the bail plea of 26-year-old Sukhanya Sabbani on Friday, noting that the investigation was still at a preliminary stage and that the motive for the alleged attack had not yet surfaced.
According to Valpoi Police, the 25-year-old victim was allegedly attacked while sleeping in her room at Hostel No. 2 on the Goa Institute of Management campus at Poriem.
She suffered four injuries, including a laceration near the neck and injuries to her fingers. The court noted that the neck was a vital part of the body and that the injuries were grievous.
Police have seized a chopper and a knife allegedly used in the assault. The court also noted that police had recorded the statement of a shopkeeper who allegedly sold the chopper to Sabbani on the day of the incident.
A key factor considered by the court was CCTV footage from the hostel corridor and the GIM campus entrance and exit. While the actual assault was not captured, the footage allegedly showed the accused, the victim and a witness, including the victim attempting to escape while being followed.
The court also rejected the defence argument that Sabbani’s lack of criminal antecedents and disruption to her postgraduate studies warranted bail. It noted that the possibility of recurrence could not be ruled out while the motive remained unknown.
The court held that the accused’s right to liberty had to be weighed against the victim’s interests and the need for a fair investigation.
Sabbani faces a charge under Section 109 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, relating to an attempt to murder.
