KHICHRU Vs. STATE OF U.P.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) In this appeal two appellants Khichru A-1 and Kashi A-2 have challenged their conviction u/s 302, 302/34, 323/34 and 323 I.P.C. respectively and imposed order of sentence for life imprisonment for the charge of murder and three months R.I. for causing simple hurt vide impugned judgment and order dated 31.10.1986 passed by Sessions Judge, Varanasi in S.T. No. 132 of 1985, State Vs. Khichru and another, relating to P.S. Balua district Varanasi(now district Chandauli).

(2.) Narrated concisely, prosecution case against the appellants is that on the intervening night between 31.12.1984/1.1.1985, informant Akchhaibar along with his wife and sons were sleeping in a separate residential portion of his thatched house and in another thatched portion, which was separated by a small courtyard(agan), his parents Antu, Kumari Devi and his sister Radhika Devi were sleeping. A lamp was lighting inside their room. At about mid night, four miscreants called Antu to open the door as they wanted to purchase a knitted bamboo basket (dauri). Deceased asked them to come following day morning but meanwhile, the miscreants had removed the arranged brick partition kept at the window and from the opened space jumped inside the room where Antu,Kumari Devi and Radhika Devi were sleeping. Out of those four miscreants both the appellants, A-1 & A-2, who both were armed with long barrel country made pistols were identified by their names by the house inmates in the flickering of lamp flames, as both of them were co-villagers belonging to the same caste and were involved in the same vocation of knitting and selling bamboo stick baskets and consequently were very well known to the house inmates, whereas other two miscreants were identified by their faces. A-1 is the son of Pattar Dhirkar whereas A-2 is the maternal grandson (nati) of Bakheru. It is further alleged the initially they tried to molest Radhika Devi P.W. 3 and with that motive pushed her on the ground and when father Antu forbade them to desist from their lustrous overtures A-1 shot him dead from his country made pistol and then all the four culprits unlocked the room door and in the darkness escaped from the incident place towards north firing in the air and hurling threats that if any inmate will disclose their identity he will also be done to death. This murder incident of his father was witnessed by the informant Akchhaiber P.W. 7 in the torch light flashed by him from inside his sleeping room. Being terror stricken and due to darkness, the informant and the other inmates could not muster any courage to chase the murderers. After culprits left the house that the informant went inside the incident room where he found the corpse of his father lying on the ground and his mother Kumari Devi P.W.1 in an injured condition who had sustained injury on her head. His sister Radhika Devi P.W.3 also had an insignificant injury on her leg. Informant raised hue and cry attracting villagers at the scene of the incident. Two fired empty cartridges were found at the spot, which were collected by the informant P.W.7. Because of night/darkness, informant P.W.7 had no courage to go to the police station immediately but ensued next day morning, he slated FIR Ext. Ka-3, and measured a distance of six miles to P.S. Balua where he lodged his FIR at 9.30 A.M. against the named appellants and two unknown miscreants and also deposited both the empties at the police station.

(3.) HC Ram Lachchan Yadav P.W. 5 had registered the crime and had prepared chik FIR Ext. Ka-5 and GD entry Ext. Ka-6. He had also seized both the empties,material Exts.1 and 2, and had slated its recovery memo Ext. Ka-4.