RAMESH Vs. STATE OF KARNATAKA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The facts of the case present a sordid story of the gory end of life of a young lady who had a promising career being an Assistant Editor with the accused and was trying to make some debut in film world, the first step having been taken with PW 17 - a film director who wanted to introduce the deceased Suma to the film world. She was a native and resident of Karada village in Kodagu District, and though her educational qualification did not come to the surface during the trial, she was employed by the accused as an Assistant Editor under him to edit his weekly 'Jammanangada' and he was also running a printing press of his own. This occupation of the deceased was at Murnad village some distance away from her own native village and she used to commute by bus to attend to her job. Even before PW 28 Malini joined the establishment of the accused in April, 1990, the deceased Suma was already working with him. In course of time they fell in love with each other and also they intended to get married. The marriage betrothal was fixed on 18-10-1990. Though the accused also told the parents of the deceased that his parents were against this marriage, it cannot be made out whether they had changed their mind at all. However, the accused wanted to go ahead with this marriage after his young sister's marriage was performed. Anyhow it appears the parents of the deceased agreed to give Suma in marriage to the accused and the betrothal to be performed on 18-10-1990.

(2.) On 14-10-1990 which happened to be a Sunday, the accused had called the deceased and some of his other employees -to his printing press for some work and accordingly the deceased had also gone to the printing press at Murnad. PW 28 Malini and PW 11 Ibrahim - the main printers were also present along with some of the other employees. The accused had a motorcycle on which it was also written in paint the name of his weekly. Its Registration No. was' CNZ 1905.

(3.) As the prosecution story goes, the deceased and the accused left Murnad some time after 9-30 a.m. on the said motorcycle of the accused telling the others present in the press that they were going to Madikeri. When the stage carriage bus driven by PW 20 was going towards 'Virajpet from Madikeri, this motorcycle of the accused came opposite to him at about 10 a.m. and when Murnad was still some distance away, the accused stopped this bus signalling and Suma - the deceased who was on the pillion got down and gave a letter in his hand to be delivered to her parents in her house. Accordingly PW 20 who was acquainted with this family of the deceased delivered it in the hands of the mother of the deceased. It appears the deceased and the accused did not go to Madikeri. They went to Kamalapur in the afternoon, took their lunch there and thereafter the accused purchased a gunny bag and a thin rope from the shop, of PW 3 and then they went to Krishnaraja Sagar dam. The accused purchased tickets for two which remained with him and according to the prosecution when they returned from K.R.S. and came near Basthipura, the accused committed her murder by hitting her head to a stone. Thereafter sprinkled petrol on her and then set fire to her dead body. His motorcycle was also put on her body. This was seen by PW 5 Govindaraju of Hosahalli when he was going from his village to Ilwala and also PW 4 who however did not inform the police. The following morning when PW 6 Mandanna of Mysore who was a production Manager in Mandya National Paper Mills at Belagola received a phone call from one of his workmen that there was a murder of one girl and dead body was lying near about and that the girl had the appearance of a, Coorgi woman. Out of curiosity, as this witness also happened to be from Coorg, went to the factory at 8 a.m. and then went to the spot near Basthipura village. He found beneath the culvert dead body of a girl and a half burnt motorcycle on the body. He found the accused sitting- about 200 yards away from this spot under a tree and on a gunny bag. There was a rope by his side. Some 50 workmen and villagers had surrounded him making enquiries with him as to what all had happened. The accused told him that he came from Coorg to Mysore on his motorcycle, visited K.R.S. the same evening, went back to Mysore and on, his way to Kodagu via Belagola that night, some people came in a car, stopped his motorcycle with an excuse to request for some petrol and soon after he started his motorcycle the inmates attacked the girl while he was tied to a tamarind tree. It was from the accused that this witness collected her family particulars and came to know that she was the daughter of one Bheemaiah of Patrapanda family. One of the relatives of the girl residing at Mysore was informed on phone and that relative in turn conveyed the message to the, parents of the deceased, whereupon, the father of the deceased and her brother PW 18 rushed to the spot.