DEVENDRA DEWANGAN Vs. STATE OF CHHATTISGARH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) In this appeal filed under Sec. 374(2) Cr.P.C., the appellants have challenged the legality, validity and propriety of the judgment of conviction and order of sentence dtd. 21/1/2020 passed by the 2nd Additional Sessions Judge, Rajnandgaon, C.G. in Sessions Trial No. No.20/2018, whereby and whereunder the appellants stand convicted and sentenced as under:- <FRM>JUDGEMENT_16_LAWS(CHH)4_2024_1.html</FRM>

(2.) Case of the prosecution, in brief, is that on 3/2/2018 in between 5:30 pm to 10:00 pm at Rajiv Nagar, Basantpur, present appellants, in furtherance of their common intention, abducted the victim- Nishant, aged about 15 years, from lawful guardianship, wrongfully confined him in an abandoned place and demanded Rs.5,00,000.00 from PW-2 Nilesh Choubey as ransom on the threat of causing death of the victim and also kept sharp edged knives without having a valid licence and thereby committed the aforesaid offences. Further case of the prosecution is that on 3/2/2018, PW-2 Nilesh Choubey lodged a missing report at Police Station Basantpur alleging therein that at about 5:30 pm, his nephew (victim) went to Pioneer Coaching Center situated at Anupam Chowk, Rajnandgaon and did not return to home till 10:00 pm. When he inquired about the victim from the Director of the coaching center namely Laxman Singh Sahu, he told him (PW-2) that at 6:45 pm, victim- Nishant left for his home. Then he inquired about the victim from his relatives over phone, but he did not get any information from them. On the report of PW-2 Nilesh Choubey, FIR (Ex.P-3) was registered against the unknown persons on the same day. During investigation, In-charge of Police Station, Basantpur got the information that some police personnel are chasing one Eco Maruti Van in Pulgaon Arjunda nearby Cheecha Village. Thereafter, police personnel along with PW-2 Nilesh Choubey and PW-7 Nohit Kumar Dewangan reached there and appellants namely Devendra Dewangan and Mojesh @ Monti Dewangan were nabbed by the police personnel. Thereafter, upon inquiry by the police, appellants Devendra Dewangan and Mojesh Dewangan disclosed the fact that they kidnapped the victim- Nishant with the help of other appellants namely Bhisham and Hemchand @ Mannu Banjare and confined him in a rented house situated at Risali, Bhilai. Thereafter, appellants were taken into custody vide Exs.P-13, 14, 15 and 16 respectively and victim-Nishant was rescued from the place of occurrence vide Ex.P-1. Memorandum statement of the appellant- Devendra Dewangan was recorded vide Ex.P-5, pursuant to which, maruti van having two numbers, one in front side showing No. CG04-HC-1830 and another from back side showing No.CG04-HC-1880, one mobile, SIM bearing registration Nos.9993359659 and 7898766114 and one knife were seized vide Ex.P-9, memorandum statement of appellant- Mojesh Dewangan was recorded vide Ex.P-6, pursuant to which, one knife and one OPPO company mobile with SIM were seized vide Ex.P-10, memorandum statement of appellant- Bhisham Sahu was recorded vide Ex.P-7, pursuant to which, one knife was seized vide Ex.P-11 and memorandum statement of appellant- Hemchand @ Mannu Banjare was recorded vide Ex.P-8, pursuant to which, two number plates bearing registration Nos.CG04-HC-1880 and CG04-HC-1830 and one knife were seized from the house of one Jagannath Prasad (PW-4) vide Ex.P-12. Spot maps were prepared vide Exs.P-19 and P-26. Victim was sent to Medical College Hospital, Rajnandgaon for medical examination vide Ex.P-32 where Dr. Y.K. Tiwari (PW-22) examined the victim and gave his report vide Ex.P-43, according to which, no external or internal injuries were found over the person of the victim. Vide Ex.P-2, test identification parade was conducted where victim- Nishant identified the accused persons/appellants.

(3.) Statements of the witnesses were recorded under Sec. 161 of Cr.P.C. After due investigation, the appellants were charge-sheeted before the jurisdictional criminal Court and the case was committed to the trial Court for hearing and disposal in accordance with law, in which appellants abjured their guilt and entered into defence by stating that they have not committed the aforesaid offences.