B.V. MANJUNATHA Vs. STATE OF KARNATAKA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The judgment and order of conviction dated 24-9-2011 passed by the Fast Track Court-III, Bangalore Rural District, Bangalore, for the offences punishable under Sections 376,302 and 201 of Indian Penal Code, 1860 in S.C. No. 326 of 2010 is called in question in this appeal.

(2.) Case of the prosecution in brief is that, the deceased Varshitha was aged about 2Vi years at the time of incident in question; she is the daughter of P.W. 1-Earanna. The said Earanna being the poor person did not have Television in his house; Earanna used to go to the house of accused in Banasavadi Village situated within the limits of Nelamangala Police Station to watch Television along with his daughter. At about 8.00 p.m. on 9-5-2010, Eranna (P.W. 1) came along with his daughter (the deceased) to the house of the accused as usual. When he was watching Television with one Prabhudeva (P.W. 2), the accused took out baby Varshitha saying that he would leave her in the house of P.W. 1-the complainant; instead of taking the baby Varshitha to her house, he took her to the land of his uncle Govindaiah and committed sexual assault on her in the bush at Karekallu; later he killed her by suffocating and thereafter, in order to destroy the evidence, he threw her body in a ditch (Agevagundi).

(3.) P. W. 1 thought that the accused after taking the child, has left her in his house; when he returned to the house, his wife Chandrakala (P.W. 5) asked P.W. 1-the complainant/the father of the child as to where is the child; only then, the complainant came to know that the accused had not taken the child to his house; consequently, the complainant and his relatives came to the house of the accused and asked regarding whereabouts of the child. The accused, however avoided to give correct answer and he falsely told to the complainant that he left the child near the house of the complainant; in the morning, the complainant complained to the elders in the village, consequent upon which the accused was called in a temple for talks, wherein the accused made extra-judicial confession before the villagers including P.Ws. 1, 2, 11 etc. that he committed rape on the child and committed her murder and threw the dead body in a ditch. Thereafter, the villagers, including P.Ws. 1,2,11 etc. went to the said ditch and found the dead body of the deceased. The complaint came to be lodged by P.W. 1 as per Ex. P. 1 before P.W. 14-Sub-Inspector of Police attached to Nelamangala Police Station, which came to be registered in Crime No. 388 of 2010 for the offences punishable under Sections 376, 302 and 201 of IPC. The Inspector of Police (P.W. 20) completed the investigation and laid the charge-sheet.