GOKARAJU VENKATANARASA RAJU Vs. STATE OF ANDHRA PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal is directed against the conviction of the appellant, Shri Gokaraju Venkatanarasa Raju, under Ss.302, 404 and 201, I.P.C. and sentence to suffer imprisonment for life under S. 302, I.P.C., rigorous imprisonment for a period of one year under S. 404, I.P.C. and rigorous imprisonment for two years under S.201, I.P.C. passed by the learned Sessions Judge, Guntur Division on March 31, 1981 in Sessions Case No. 35 of 1981, since affirmed by the Division Bench of Andhra Pradesh High Court by its judgment dated April 27, 1984 in Criminal Appeal No. 767 of 1981.

(2.) The prosecution case in short is that the deceased Rambhadra Raju was aged 21 years and was the son of P.W. 1 Ramaraju. The accused, Gokaraju Venkatanarasa Raju and his brother were making their living by tending ducks. In the month of October, 1970 he was living as a tenant in a portion of the house belongingto the sister of P.W. 11 at Kakinada. The accused became acquainted with P.W. 5 who was an employee in Gokul Biscuit Works at Kakinada and also with P.W. 8 who was an employee in a shop. The deceased, Ramabhadra Raju, was married on April 10, 1980 and the wife did not join him after the marriage before his death. The deceased received a gold chain and a gold ring with a figure of Lord Venkateswara embossed on it from his parents-in-law as presents in the marriage. He also received a wrist watch from his parents-in-law, which he exchanged with his father, P.W. 1 for a H.M.T. Kohinoor watch. In the year 1980 the deceased and P.W. 2 joined first year class of B.A. Degree and P.W. 3 joined first year class of B.Sc. degree in a college at Nadubrolu. For some time P.Ws. 2 and 3 and the deceased used to go to Nidubrolu every day by bus from their respective villages to attend their colleges. As it became inconvenient for them to go daily on bus from distant places, they started living in a room in the house of P.W. 1 at Nidubrolu on rent. The deceased and the said two friends were cooking their own food where they were slaying. On October 27, 1980, at about 7 or 7.30 p.m., the accused went to the deceased in his room and had told him that he had come to Ponnur to witness a cinema show. The deceased, P.Ws. 2 and 3 accompanied the accused. After reaching the railway level crossing, the accused and the deceased went in the direction of the railway track to answer call of nature and P.Ws. 2 and 3 proceeded towards Ponnur for purchase of notebooks. After some time, P.Ws. 2 and 3 came back and thereafter the accused and deceased also returned to the room where they had been living. While the accused was taking leave from the deceased, the deceased addressed the accused in a language which could be understood by the accused only and the accused replied that not on that day but day after. After saying so, the accused left the place. On October 29, 1980, P.W. 2 had seen the deceased with the shirt (M.O. 1, white lungi (M.O.2) and also a pair of sleepers (M.O. 3) which belonged to P.W. 3. The deceased told to P.W. 2 that he was going to bazar and that he would be returning soon. A little later P.W. 3 returned from Khajipalem and enquired about the wherebouts of the deceased when P.W. 2 informed P.W. 3 that the deceased had gone to the bazar. On October 29, 1980, at about 8.30 p.m., while P.W. 17 was at the bus stop waiting for a bus to go to Cherukuplalli, he found the accused and the deceased near a bund close to the bus stop. The said witness, P.W. 17 had also seen both of them going together crossing the road and smoking cigarettes. The deceased informed P.W. 17 that as his father had asked him to go urgently, he was going to the village along with the accused by bus which was ready to start. P.W. 17 however, noted that instead of boarding the bus, the deceased and the accused were seen proceeding towards the drainage channel bund. P.W. 17 became curious and questioned the accused and the deceased as to why they had been going on the other side when they should board the bus but the accused and the deceased moved away without answering such question. In the early hours of October 30, 1980, P.W. 18 while proceeding along side the drainage channel bund, saw the accused coming from the opposite direction near Venkataraju Pump. The said P.W. 18 accosted the accused and the accused replied that he had been returning from Ponnur after seeing a cinema. As the deceased did not return to the room even on October 31, 1980, P.Ws. 2 and 3 went to Khajipalem in the afternoon and apprised P.Ws. 1 and 4, namely, the father and the brother of the deceased about the disappearance of the deceased from October 29, 1980. Thereafter, enquiries were made by P.Ws. 1 and 4 with the relations residing in the neighbouring village about the whereabouts of the deceased. On October 31, 1980 at about 2.00 p.m., the accused met P.W. 5 at Kakinada near Rajus hotel. The accused went to the shop of P.W. 8 and informed him that he was in some financial difficulty due to loss in the business of ducks. The accused then sought the help of P.W. 8 in disposing of the gold ring (M.O. 5) to P.W. 9. The accused was taken to P.W. 9 who was a pawn broker. P.W. 8 and the accused got the gold ring (M.O. 5) weighed at Dharamakata. P.W.9 purchased the gold ring (M.O. 5) from the accused for Rest. 950/-. In the evening on the same day when P.W. 5 met the accused again, the accused showed him the gold chain (M.O. 4) and sought for his help in disposing of the gold chain (M.O. 4). Next day, the accused went along with P.W. 5 to P.W. 6 who was the owner of the silver ware shop and he sold the gold chain (M.O.4) for Rs. 1450/-. The accused along with P.W. 5 went to the cloth shop where he purchased cloth for pant and shirt and gave them to the tailor, P.W. 12, for stitching. The same evening the accused went along with P.W. 5 and purchased a suitcase (M.O.7). The accused took delivery from P.W. 12 of the pant (M.O.8) and the shirt (M.O.9). On November 3, 1980, the accused along with P.W. 5 went to the bus stand saying that he would return back to the village. He purchased a ticket for Bhimavaram and boarded the bus. Before leaving, the accused handed over a bag (M.O.6) to P.W. 5 saying that he would come back within 15 days and would take the bag from him. On November 5, 1980, the accused pledged M.O.6 and borrowed some money from P.W. 7, a licenced pawn broker and borrowed a further sum of Rs. 55/- from P.W. 7 by keeping the said bag (M.O.6) as security.

(3.) On November 2, 1980, some colleagues of the deceased met the father of the deceased and informed him that they had been searching for their missing classmate but they could not trace him. On November 3, 1980, P.W. 1, father of the deceased went to the police station and submitted a report and a case being Crime No. 208/80 under the heading Man Missing was registered. Ex.P21 is the F.I.R. for the said case. P.W. 21 the police officer examined P.Ws. 2 and 3 and recorded their statements. On November 5, 1980, P.Ws. 2 and 3 informed P.W. 1 about what happened on the night of October 27, 1980. On November 6, 1980, the accused met P.W. 16 at night at his house and requested P.W. 16 to get two of his shirts for wash. The accused told P.W. 16 that he would come back on November 8, 1980 and collect the shirts. The accused went away leaving the suitcase with P.W. 16. On the very same day, P.Ws. 1 and 2 went to P.W. 16 and enquired about the accused. The accused having come to know that P.W. 1 was in search of him went to P.W. 16 and told him that P.W. 1s son was reported to have been murdered and that he was being suspected in that connection. The accused requested P.W. 16 that he should inform the people enquiring about him that he had stayed with him but P.W. 16 expressed his reluctance to speak falsely. On November 17, 1980, P.W. 1 located the accused in his house and questioned him as to the whereabouts of the deceased. The accused pleaded ignorance of the matter. When P.W. 4 went to Tenali and met P.W. 16 on November 7, 1980 and questioned him, P.W. 16 informed P.W. 4 as to what happened and handed over M.Os. 7 to 12 to him. P.W. 4 apprised his father, P.W. 1 about what P.W. 16 had told him. Thereafter, he proceeded to Kakinada and met P.Ws. 5 to 12. He showed the photograph of the deceased to P.W. 5 and to the tailor AND asked the tailor whether the person in the photograph had come to his shop. The tailor replied that no such person had come to his shop. P.W. 4 handed over M.Os. 7 to 12 at the Ponnur Police Station and the said articles were seized. On the evening of November 18, 1980, P.W. 16 sent a phone message to P.W. 1 to go over to Tenali since the accused was apprehended at Tenali. He immediately proceeded to Tanali and brought the accused to his village. On November 19, 1980, the accused was interrogated at the house of P.W. 1 in the presence of P.Ws. 1 and 24 and several others. The accused made a statement to the effect that on the night of October 28, 1980 when he met the deceased at Chandole, he promised to bring a prostitute for him and both of them went to the sand heaps between Chandole and their villages and sat there for some time waiting for the call girl to turn up. The accused also told that on the pretext of urinating he went aside and loosened the cycle chain which was tied round his waist and that he approached the deceased from behind and strangulated him to death. He removed the gold chain, ring and the watch (M.Os. 4 to 6) from the body of the deceased AND thereafter dragged the deceased to a nearby palmyrah tree and tied his neck with the hands of the deceased behind his back with palmyrah leafs and later he threw away the cycle chain. Thereafter he dug a pit at the scene of offence, pushed the dead body into the pit and covered it up with sand leaving M.Os. 2 and 3 in the pit itself. He also told them that he went to Kakinada and disposed of M.Os. 4 and 5 with the assistance of P.W. 5 and he purchased a new suitcase and got new clothes stiched at Kakinada and went to Tenali where he met P.W. 16 and he left the clothes for being ironed after telling P.W. 16 that he would come back and collect the clothes. On such statement of the accused, P.W. 1 called for the village Munsif, P.W. 19, who also questioned the accused and the accused admitted that he had murdered Ramabhadraraju in the field near Chandole and buried the dead body. The accused led P.Ws. 1, 2 and 19 and others to the sand mounds where the dead body of the deceased was found in the pit. P.W. 1 identified the dead body as that of the deceased, Ramabhadraraju. P.W. 19 thereafter recorded the statement of P.W. 1 and prepared the Crime Report. P.W. 22 on receipt of the report, altered the Crime as one under S. 302, I.P.C. and sent the reports to all the authorities concerned. P.W. 22 after inquest recorded the statements of material witnesses and after completion of investigation lodged the charge-sheet against the accused. On November 26, 1980, P.W. 19 and another, conducted an identification proceedings during which P.Ws. 1 to 4 identified M.Os. 4 to 6 as the articles belonging to the deceased. When questioned under S. 313, Cr.P.C., the accused pleaded innocence. The learned Sessions Judge on a consideration of the facts and circumstances of case, came to the finding that the prosecution had proved the case beyond all reasonable doubts. Accordingly, he convicted and sentenced the accused as stated hereinbefore.