[5][6][7] Dhananjoy was born in Kuludihi, West Bengal, India, and worked as a security guard in Kolkata.
After returning from the temple, she being unable to enter her home, despite repeated knocking, asked some servants of other flats to break the door open.
Hetal was found lying dead near the door connecting the living room with the Parekh couple's bedroom with blood stains on her face and on the floor.
The chargesheet prepared by the police included the charges of rape, murder and the theft of a wrist watch.
Professors from ISI Kolkata—Debasish Sengupta, Probal Chaudhuri and Paramesh Goswami have conducted investigative journalism on the issue; publishing the findings in a book titled Adalat-Media-Samaj Ebaṃ Dhananjayer Fansi (Court-Media-Society and The Hanging of Dhananjoy).
It was stayed after his family petitioned the Supreme Court of India, and filed a mercy plea with the then President Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam.
[20] The date of Dhananjoy's execution was fixed at a high-level meeting at the office of Jail Minister Biswanath Chowdhury.
[13] Dhananjay, a film based on the events of the case was released on 11 August 2017 regionally and on Amazon Prime.
[22][23][24] The film was directed by Arindam Sil, and cast Anirban Bhattacharya and Mimi Chakraborty in the lead roles.