KISHORE BHADKE Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These appeals are filed by the original accused No.1 (Crl.A.No. 854/2010), accused No.3 (Crl.A.No.467/2010) and accused No.6 (Crl.A.No.11/2015). They were tried for offence punishable under Sections 364, 302, 201 read with 34/120-B of Indian Penal Code (IPC) along with four other accused.

(2.) The prosecution case is that, on 10th May 2003, Shriniwas son of Wasudeorao Tonpe lodged a report (Exh.154) that his elder brother Raman has gone missing since morning of 8th May 2003. On the basis of that report, a missing Register entry was effected by the Police Station, Narkhed, District Nagpur (Maharashtra). On the next day i.e. 11th May 2003 another brother of the missing person, Madan son of Wasudeorao Tonpe lodged a second report (Exh.68) suspecting that accused No.1- Nalini, her husband Vijay Dhpake, accused No.2-Rinku, and accused No.7- Suresh Chandra might have abducted his brother Raman in order to commit his murder. On the basis of this report, Police Station registered an offence punishable under Sec. 364 read with Sec. 34 of Penal Code against the named persons. Police Inspector R.B.Bansod (PW-17) was entrusted with the investigation of the case. On the same day, he called accused No.1-Nalini and Accused No.2- Rinku to the Police Station for interrogation. As nothing came out of that interrogation, the said accused persons were allowed to go back. However, on the same evening, he arrested both Nalini and Rinku and thereafter accused No.3 - Kishor, accused No.4 - Tarachand in the mid night of 12th May 2003. It is stated that accused No.2- Rinku and accused No.3- Kishor, during interrogation confessed that on 8th May 2003 between 1.00 p.m.to 1.30 p.m. they along with accused No.4-Tarachand and accused No.6-Satish with the help of accused No.1-Nalini and accused No.5-Arun had committed murder of Raman by strangulation in the cattle shed of one Nitin Rai. The dead body of Raman was thereafter taken away in a gunny bag and then thrown in a valley near "Deona Darshan Point". Before throwing the dead body, they had removed the clothes and wrist watch from the dead body. They then burnt the gunny bag as well as the rope used for strangulation including some documents possessed by the deceased by pouring petrol at some other place at a distance of 10 km. before Deona Darshan Point. They also agreed to show the spot where the gunny bag, clothes and documents were burnt and the place where the dead body was disposed. Pursuant to the said revelation, the police party along with accused No.2-Rinku and accused No.3-Kishor proceeded to the locations disclosed by the said accused. Firstly, they showed the place of burning the articles from where the remains in the form of ash and a bunch of keys was seized. Thereafter, they proceeded to the other location where the dead body was found lying in the valley near Deona Darshan Point. The Investigating Officer R.B.Bansod completed the necessary formalities of preparing memorandum of statements of the said accused, Panchnamas, seizure panchnamas/memos, Inquest panchnama etc. of the dead body. The dead body and the recovered articles were then brought to Narkhed. The dead body was identified by the complainant Madan Tonpe (PW-1) at the spot i.e. Deona Darshan Point itself. The dead body was then sent to Primary Health Centre, Narkhed for post mortem examination. After the post mortem was conducted on the dead body, it was handed over to the family members/relatives for funeral. The mother of the deceased, Smt. Shantabai (PW 15) also identified the dead body of her son when it was brought to their house. The offence was then converted and registered under Sec. 364, 302 and 201 read with Sec. 34/120-B of the IPC. Thereafter remaining accused i.e. accused No.5- Arun, accused No.6-Satish and accused No.7-Suresh Chandra were arrested.

(3.) The Investigating Officer R.B.Bansod carried out further investigation. He recorded statements of the witnesses, seized the vehicle/Tata Sumo used in the commission of offence for transporting the dead body, recovered the wrist watch and gold ring at the instance of accused No.3 - Kishor and accused No.6 - Satish respectively. He prepared a panchnama of the place of incident in the cattle shed of Nitin Rai, seized clothes of accused No.2 - Rinku, accused No.3-Kishore and accused No.6-Satish and of deceased Raman. He then verified the bunch of keys recovered from the spot disclosed by the accused by applying it on the cupboard in the house of deceased Raman. He also arranged for identification parade of the wrist watch and gold ring. He seized some currency at the instance of accused No.6-Satish. The muddemal/property, seized articles, viscera etc. was then sent to the Chemical Analyser for analysis. After the investigation was completed, police report was filed in the Court of J.M.F.C., Narkhed, who committed the case for trial of the accused before the Sessions Court at Nagpur. The trial proceeded before the 3rd Addl. Sessions Judge, Nagpur, who framed charges for offence punishable under Sec. 364, 302, 201 read with Sec. 34 in the alternative 120-B of IPC. All the accused pleaded not guilty and to have been falsely implicated. They claimed to be tried.