DHANI AND ORS. Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) DHANI Ram, Murli, Bhupal, Mihi Lal, Hodal, Ram Singh and Nain Sukh have come up in appeal against their conviction and sentences of seven years' rigorous imprisonment and Rs. 200/ - fine each for an offence Under Section 395, IPC.

(2.) IT is important to note that with the exception of Hodal, the Appellants are residents of village Parora, police circle Baila, district Aligarh, while Hodall belongs to Ramnagar, a village which adjoins Parora. On the other hand the dacoity was committed in village Mudesi, police circle Kotwali district Mathura.

(3.) IT is necessary to give an account of a most important incident, for it was this incident which led to the tracing out of the criminals. Raya is a police station in district Mathura situated on the Mathura Hathras highway. Hoshiar Singh, the Station Officer of Raya, on the morning of the 19th March (i.e., the morning following the night of the dacoity, while the Kotwali police were still at the stage of the preliminary investigation and had no idea of the identity of the culprits) received information that some bad characters would be passing that way. Accordingly he took his stand at a convenient place on the road, intending to check suspicious persons. In a tonga coming from the direction of Mathura were two strangers holding bags. They were the Appellants Dhani Ram and Murali. On their bags being searched, both were found to contain clothes which appeared suspiciously like stolen goods. In addition, Dhani Ram carried an unlicensed country made pistol. Both men were accordingly arrested and interrogated. They were immediately placed in purdah and sent to the District Jail with due precautions. As a result of their interrogation SO Hoshiar Singh sent a written note to the Kotwali police informing them of the persons suspected to have taken part in the present dacoity. Arrest of the other Appellants speedily followed.