HANMANTH Vs. STATE OF KARNATAKA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Petitioner is before this Court seeking bail in Crime No. 287 of 2014 of Raibag Police Station registered for the offence punishable under Sections 302 and 201 of Indian Penal Code, 1860. The case of the prosecution is that the relationship between the deceased and the accused 4 had soured due to business rivalry. It is stated that the deceased and accused 4 are cousins and both of them competing in the vegetable trade and that the accused 4 was suffering losses in his business because of the active involvement of the deceased in the cabbage trade which otherwise he was earning good profits.

(2.) It is further alleged that accused 4 decided to do away with the life of the deceased and accordingly engaged the accused 1 to 3 and gave them supari for a sum of Rs. 3,00,000/- to do away with the life of the deceased.

(3.) It is alleged that on 14-9-2014, the deceased in the course of his cabbage business, collected a sum of Rs. 1,17,000/- from one Suresh Devmane in order to hand it over to one Balachandra Kichade. Thereafter he left for Ghataprabha Village where he consumed liquor with accused 1 and it is further alleged that from Ghataprabha, the deceased and accused 1 travelled to Raibag to see cabbage growing lands. From there, the deceased and accused 1 along with accused 2 and 3 had left for Raibag and it is alleged that from Raibag the deceased was taken to the jungle within the limits of Hubbarwadi Village and there, at about 8.30 p.m., it alleged that he has been done to death by strangulation. The family of the deceased had grown apprehensive and lodged a man missing complaint as the deceased failed to return even after the lapse of ten days.