The Murder of Hetal Parekh

On March 5, 1990, Hetal Parekh returned to her family's apartment in Bhowanipore after an examination. Later that afternoon, she was found inside the home and pronounced dead. The Supreme Court's 1994 judgment states that she had been sexually assaulted and that her death was homicidal.

Prior complaint and transfer order

The Supreme Court record says Dhananjoy Chatterjee worked as a security guard at Anand Apartment. Several days before the killing, Hetal had complained to her mother that Chatterjee had been harassing her. Her father reported the conduct to the security agency, which ordered Chatterjee transferred to another building with effect from March 5.

The judgment records that Chatterjee nevertheless remained at Anand Apartment that day. Witnesses placed him going to the Parekh family's flat after Hetal's mother left for a temple and shortly before Hetal was found.

A case built on circumstantial evidence

There was no eyewitness to the rape or killing. The prosecution relied on a chain of circumstantial evidence that included witness testimony about Chatterjee's presence at the flat, his departure from the building, physical items recovered from the apartment and later recoveries attributed to information he provided after arrest.

Chatterjee denied the accusations and said he had been falsely implicated. The Supreme Court reviewed the evidentiary chain and concluded in 1994 that the circumstances established by the prosecution were consistent with his guilt and inconsistent with innocence.

Trial, appeal and death sentence

On August 12, 1991, the Second Additional Sessions Judge at Alipore convicted Chatterjee under provisions covering rape, murder and theft. He received a death sentence for murder, life imprisonment for rape and five years for theft. The Calcutta High Court upheld the conviction and capital sentence.

On January 11, 1994, the Supreme Court dismissed Chatterjee's criminal appeal and confirmed the death sentence. A review petition was rejected later that month.

Clemency litigation

The case did not end with the 1994 judgment. Chatterjee pursued clemency and further court proceedings for years. In March 2004, the Supreme Court found that relevant material had not been properly placed before the Governor of West Bengal during an earlier mercy process and ordered the petition to be considered again. That ruling addressed the fairness of the clemency process; it did not overturn the murder or rape convictions.

After renewed clemency proceedings, President A. P. J. Abdul Kalam rejected a mercy petition in August 2004. A five-judge Supreme Court bench then rejected a final challenge seeking to stop the execution.

Execution

Dhananjoy Chatterjee was executed by hanging at Alipore Central Jail on August 14, 2004. Amnesty International recorded the execution two days later and identified it as India's first known execution since 1997.

The execution is the final legal outcome recorded here. Chatterjee maintained his innocence, but his conviction was never judicially reversed or set aside.

A note on Hetal's reported age

Sources conflict over Hetal Parekh's age. Contemporary and later news reports often describe her as 14, while the Supreme Court's detailed 1994 judgment repeatedly describes her as a school-going girl of about 18. Because the primary judicial source and press accounts diverge, this file does not convert either figure into an unquestioned fact in the headline or case summary.

Timeline

1. March 5, 1990
   Hetal Parekh is raped and murdered

   She is found in her family's apartment in Bhowanipore, Kolkata.

2. May 12, 1990
   Chatterjee is arrested

   Police arrest the security guard after searching for him following the crime.

3. August 12, 1991
   Trial conviction

   The Alipore court convicts Chatterjee of rape, murder and theft and imposes a death sentence for murder.

4. January 11, 1994
   Supreme Court confirms conviction

   India's Supreme Court dismisses the appeal and confirms the capital sentence.

5. March 26, 2004
   Clemency process reconsidered

   The Supreme Court orders the mercy petition to be placed again before the Governor with the relevant material.

6. August 14, 2004
   Execution

   Chatterjee is executed at Alipore Central Jail after later clemency and judicial challenges fail.

Current status

The case is classified as solved / adjudicated. Dhananjoy Chatterjee's rape, murder and theft convictions survived appellate review, and the sentence was carried out in 2004. His continuing claim of innocence is part of the historical record but did not result in judicial exoneration.