STATE Vs. NIKHIL ALIAS RAHUL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE respondent charged with the murder of Ms. Kanchan (deceased) was acquitted by the trial court in terms of the impugned judgement dated 24. 3. 2007 giving rise to the state appeal. The father of the deceased has separately filed a Revision Petition and both these matters were taken up together for hearing.

(2.) THE case of the prosecution is that on 17. 7. 2004 the dead body of a girl was found lying in the drain near the enclosure of Bengal Tiger in the National Zoological Park, new Delhi. Dr. Manoj Kumar, PW-2, Biological Assistant at the Park at the relevant time, on being alerted of this fact by a visitor, informed the police. On the basis of the said information received, DD No. 7a (exhibit PW-1/b-14) was recorded and the matter was handed over to A. S. I. Sarwar singh (PW-9) who along with Constable Balwan Singh rushed to the spot, which was behind the cage of "neel gai". The body of a girl was found lying in the drain facing downward having incise wound on her neck. The girl was already dead and her clothes were smeared with blood. No eye-witness was found at the spot and the statement of pw-2 was recorded. On the statement being so recorded fir No. 411/04 was registered under Section 302 IPC with p. S. Hazrat Nizamuddin. The investigation was thereafter handed over to Inspector Sehdev Singh (PW-20 ). PW-20 summoned the crime team to the spot. The site was inspected and a site plan (exhibit PW-1/b-13) was prepared. The blood stained concrete and earth control lifted from the spot were kept in separate jars and sealed in two separate pulandas with the seal of SS. The leaves of the bushes which were blood stained were also seized from near the cage of Neel Gai (cow) and the jewellery worn by the deceased was removed. The dead body was sent to the mortuary of AIIMS.

(3.) ON the same day, i. e. 17. 7. 2004, date of the incident, Shri pradeep Kumar, PW-8, had gone looking out for his missing daughter, Kanchan, and lodged a complaint at P. S. Daryaganj whereupon he was informed that the description of his missing daughter seemed to match with the body discovered from the Zoo. The body of the deceased, thus, came to be identified by her father, Shri Pradeep Kumar, at aiims whereafter the body was sent for postmortem. The suspicion arose on the respondent and he was arrested on 18. 7. 2004. The disclosure statement of the respondent (exhibit PW-10/a) was recorded. It is the case of the prosecution that on the basis of the disclosure statement the weapon of the crime being a razor (exhibit P-1) was recovered from the bushes near the cage of Bengal Tiger. The clothes worn by the respondent at the time of incident were also seized from his house. The prosecution claims that the respondent parked his motorcycle bearing No. 6765 in the Zoo parking and thus parking receipt book (counter foils) was seized vide exhibit PW-4/a. The number of the motorcycle of the respondent was verified from the regional Transport Authority as DL 6s Q 6765. On completion of investigation challan was filed against the appellant. He was charged under Section 302 IPC to which he pleaded not guilty.