BHUPENDRABHAI THAKORBHAI PATEL Vs. STATE OF GUJARAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE appellant original accused has challenged the judgment dated 9.12.2010 rendered by the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Bhavnagar, in Special Atrocity Case No. 30/2008. The appellant was charged with offence under section 302 read with section 201 of the IPC. He was convicted for both the offences. He was sentenced to imprisonment for life for offence under section 302. For offence under section 201, he was sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for three years. Briefly stated the prosecution version was that deceased Jesangbhai Nayak was a labour contractor and a labourer himself engaged in the activity of cutting trees. Accused Bhupendrabhai Thakorbhai Patel had called for a group of labourers for cutting trees. The deceased Jesangbhai had come to village Ranipura on 30.1.2008. On 4.2.2008, the accused through his friend Sashikant Maganlal Shah called Jesangbhai under the guise of showing him forest for cutting trees. He was brought in a vehicle near Ankleshwar railway bridge. Late at night on 4.2.2008, the accused assaulted the deceased with deadly weapon with intention of causing death on a walk path near the Golden gate bridge over river Narmada. Thereafter, the dead body was thrown from over the bridge. In the process the body got caught in an iron angle of the bridge. The accused had thus committed offence under section 302 and 201 of the IPC.

(2.) THE dead body was spotted by one Farukhbhai on 5.2.2008 who informed this to Aiyub Patel, PW -3, who lodged an FIR before the police station which was produced at exh. 73. The postmortem of the dead body was carried out by Dr. Binoykumar Taraknath Sharma, PW -10, exh. 112. He had noticed the following injuries in his postmortem report:

(3.) IT appears that the dead body was not immediately identified by the relatives of the deceased and therefore, the fact that Jesangbhai was killed on 4.2.2008 did not come to light for sometime. On 28.2.2008, a missing person's report was lodged before the Umlla police station informing that Jesangbhai Nayak was missing since 3.2.2008. It further appears that from the photograph of the deceased, his wife identified him and that is how the investigation went further trying to ascertain the cause of murder of Jesangbhai.