PRADEEP @ KULDEEP Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) ON March 27, 2008 a joint written complaint Ex.PW -5/A was handed over by Ram Prasad PW -2, father of Rajan (hereinafter referred to as the deceased), Babloo @ Mirajuddin PW -5, the owner -cum -driver of an Innova motor vehicle bearing registration No.DL 7CX 1951, and Hari Om Gupta PW -6, the proprietor of Himanshu Tours and Travels, informing the SHO of PS Mayur Vihar that Kuldeep and Pradeep, having mobile numbers 9250780099 and 9250746991 respectively, had booked the Innova car on March 25, 2008 to go to Ambala for a day. Rajan was the driver who took the two in the car and Rajan had not returned with the car. Pradeep and Kuldeep were not responding on their mobile numbers. The three suspected something amiss. The next day, on March 28, 2008, Ram Prashad again went to the police station to inform that his son Rajan had not returned and the vehicle in which he left was not to be found. The duty officer recorded Ram Prashad's statement in the daily diary at serial No.31A, Ex.PW -27/A, in which he disclosed that Rajan was aged 28 years and his height was 5 feet 6 inches and that when he left at 6:30 PM on March 25, 2008, Rajan was wearing a blue coloured jeans and a chocolate coloured shirt and sports shoes. He further disclosed that Rajan was to spend the night in Ambala at the house of his sister who informed that Rajan had not visited her house at Ambala. A few hours thereafter on March 28, 2008, Ram Prashad went to the police station where ASI Jaipal Singh PW -27, recorded the statement Ex.PW -2/A of Ram Prashad in which, in continuation of the missing person's complaint Ex.PW -5/A and further information Ex.PW -27/A, Ram Prashad expressed apprehension that Kuldeep, a bad character of Trilokpuri and Pradeep, a bus driver and resident of District Jhajjar Haryana, had kidnapped his son. Making an endorsement Ex.PW -27/B beneath Ram Prashad's statement Ex.PW -2/A, FIR No.96/2008, Ex.PW -21/A for an offence punishable under Section 365 IPC was registered on March 28, 2008 at the instance of ASI Jaipal Singh at PS Mayur Vihar and entry Ex.PW - 21/B to said effect was made in the daily diary.

(2.) THUS , investigation commenced to find out the whereabouts of Rajan and the Innova car, and the lead available with the Investigating Officer was the name of Pradeep and Kuldeep and their mobile numbers 9250780099, 9250746991 and as also the mobile number 9971720447 of Rajan. ASI Jaipal obtained the call detail record of the mobile number 9971720447 and found that on the day when Rajan was missing, apart from other numbers, he had received a call from the mobile number 9250780099, which number as per the service provider was told to ASI Jaipal being in the name of one Saurabh Sethi. ASI Jaipal contacted Saurabh Sethi who told him that the mobile phone along with the SIM card had been gifted by him to his girlfriend Ritu and currently he was using the mobile No.9250780100. Saurabh Sethi gave Ritu's address in Paschim Vihar to ASI Jaipal who contacted Ritu at her residence, who told him that about two or three months ago, while travelling in a taxi, she had inadvertently left the telephone in the vehicle and had not bothered to lodge a lost report. She disclosed that the name of the taxi driver was Devinder Malik who resided in Haryana. ASI Jaipal managed to locate Devinder Malik who told him that he had handed over the mobile phone, after removing the SIM card, to Pradeep who was the driver of a bus, owner whereof resided in Mahipal Pur. ASI Jaipal went to Mahipal Pur and located the owner of the bus which was being driven by Pradeep Kumar. The owner of the bus produced a driving license in the name of Pradeep Kumar, on seeing the photograph of the person in whose name the driving license was issued, Hari Om Gupta identified that he was the person who disclosed his name as Kuldeep when he booked the Innova car on March 25, 2008. Being informed that Pradeep Kumar resides with his parents in Gopal Colony, Najafgarh, ASI Jaipal located the house of the parents of Pradeep Kumar whose father informed that Pradeep was a bus driver and used to come home occasionally. He informed that Pradeep resided with his friend Vinod at Pandav Nagar. ASI Jaipal tracked Vinod in Pandav Nagar, who disclosed that Pradeep used to reside at 28/110 Trilokpuri. On reaching said house he found it locked. On April 01, 2008, Saurabh and Ritu handed over documents concerning mobile No.9250780099 to ASI Jaipal who seized the same as recorded in the memo Ex.PW -1/C. He once again contacted Vinod to find out whether Pradeep had any other friends. Vinod informed him that Pradeep was friendly with Rohit who resided at Rama Krishna Ashram Marg near house No.7/75, Rama Krishna Ashram Marg where Vinod's mother -in -law used to reside.

(3.) ASI Abhay Singh PW -18, a police officer with Haryana Police was posted at PP Badli under jurisdiction of PS Sadar Bahadurgarh, Haryana as on March 31, 2008, and in the morning thereof he received information that a dead body had been found in the Gurgaon Water Supply Canal near village Lagarpur. The body was entangled in the pipes and was retrieved. Photographs of the dead body were taken and the body was sent to the mortuary of PG Hospital, Rohtak with a request that post -mortem be deferred pending identification of the dead body.