SYED MUHAMMED ASHIK Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is an application submitted for regular bail under Sec. 439 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The petitioner is the accused No.24 in Crime No.1989/2021 of Town South Police Station, Palakkad.

(2.) The prosecution case is that, on 15/11/2021 at about 8.45 a.m., while the deceased named Sanjith, an RSS worker, was proceeding on a motorcycle along with his wife from Mambram to Palakkad, five persons followed them and assaulted the said Sanjith with dangerous weapons such as swords, sticks etc. Due to the injuries sustained, he died and immediately thereafter, the assailants escaped from the scene of occurrence in a Maruti-800 car. The crime was initially registered for the offences punishable under Sec. 302 r/w 34 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) against four or five identifiable persons. Later, during the course of investigation, the involvement of other accused persons were revealed and consequently, offences under Sec. 143, 144, 147, 148, 341, 302, 120(b), 109, 118, 201, 212, 114, 115, 465, 471 r/w. 149 of IPC and 27(3) r/w 7(a) and (b) of Arms Act were also alleged. Initially, the Police submitted a final report on 10/2/2022 against ten accused persons before the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court-III, Palakkad. Later, the said case was committed to the Sessions Court, Palakkad, and it is now pending as S.C.No.662/2022 before the Sessions Court, Palakkad.

(3.) Later, the investigation continued and a supplementary charge sheet was submitted on 1/8/2022 against two more accused persons ie. A10 and A21. Thereafter, one Sirajudheen was arrested in connection with Crime No.318/2022 of Palakkad Town South Police Station, in which one Sreenivasan was murdered in a similar fashion. From the possession of the said Sirajudheen, two pen drives were recovered by the police, and one of the said pen drives contained the visuals of the place of occurrence of the incident in Crime No.1989/2021 wherein it could be seen that the deceased Sanjith was lying in a pool of blood and his wife was found crying. It was revealed that the aforesaid data and video footage were copied from the mobile phone of the 8th accused, Noushad (yet to be arrested) who captured the said images immediately after the incident. The said data were handed over to the said Sirajudheen by the said Noushad, A8. Accordingly, a further charge sheet was submitted in the said case implicating the said Sirajudheen as the 23rd accused in the said case.