PRASHANT ALIAS ASHIQUI NAIK RAJARAM NAIK Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) BY this Appeal, the Appellant challenges his conviction and sentence in Sessions Case No. 15 of 1999 passed by the Sessions Judge, South Goa, Margao, by Order dated-2nd November, 2000. BY the said Order, the Appellant/accused is convicted for offences under Sections 302, 452 and 354 of the Indian Penal Code and sentenced to undergo imprisonment for life for the offence punishable under Section302 I. P. C. and to a fine of Rs. 10,000/-, in default, to undergo Simple Imprisonment for 6 months, further sentenced to undergo Rigorous Imprisonment for a period of 6 months and to pay a fine of Rs. 1,000/-, in default to undergo Simple Imprisonment for 15 days, for the offence punishable under Section452 I. P. C. ; and further sentenced to undergo Rigorous Imprisonment for a period of 1 month for the offence punishable under Section354 I. P. C. . The periods of imprisonment are directed to run concurrently.

(2.) THE Appellant had challenged the said impugned Order, inter alia, on the ground that the prosecution had failed to prove the case against the Appellant beyond reasonable doubt; that there are glaring loopholes in the prosecution case; that the prosecution has neither proved any incriminating circumstances against the Appellant nor is there any chain of circumstances established by the prosecution that could be said to be so complete as to exclude the possibility of complete innocence of the Appellant; that the dying declarations allegedly made by the deceased to P. W.12 lady constable Parsekar, P. W.1 Remedios and P.W.2 Olinda, are figments of imagination of the said witnesses and deliberately made to falsely implicate the Appellant. THEy cannot be relied upon.

(3.) UNDOUBTEDLY, this is a case based purely on circumstantial evidence. No eye witnesses have deposed. The incident took place on1-12-1998 in the morning at about11. 30 hours. The complaint was filed by P.W.1 Remedios, the employer of the deceased girl Yamuna, daughter of Venkatesh Ambiga, on2nd December, 1998. P.W.2 Olinda is the wife of P. W.1 Remedios. According to P. W.1 and P.W.2, the deceased Yamuna was working as their maid servant since two years prior to the incident. According to them, when they used to leave for work, Yamuna used to remain in the flat alone. One Akbar Shaikh was appointed driver for the vehicle, a van, owned by P. W.1. The said van was plied as a tourist taxi in Vasco. According to the complainant, on the day of the incident, i. e. 1-12-1998, at about7. 00 a. m. , he (P. W.1 Remedios), as usual, left for work and, thereafter, at about8. 30 a. m. , his wife P.W.22 Olinda also left for her place of work. At about11. 30 on that day, one Ashiqui/accused herein, entered the flat through the front open door and started watching TV. Sometime later, driver Akbar Shaik also entered into the flat to take the car cassettes player and left the house. After Akbar left, the accused closed the front door and latched it. That, thereupon, he asked Yamuna to have sexual intercourse with him. That on her refusing, the accused removed all her clothes and made her naked. Then he caught hold of her mouth to prevent her from shouting, dragged her to the kitchen, took out a kerosene can, brought her back to the dining hall, poured kerosene on her and on her clothes and set her ablaze and thereafter left the flat. Yamuna, who was ablaze, ran down to the Sanjeevani Hospital in the same building where the fire was put off. From there, she was removed to Goa Medical College Hospital. The accused is alleged to have come to the house on brown colour scooter No. GA-02-F-0066. Yamuna was in Goa Medical College Hospital for over one and half month and succumbed to her injuries at Goa Medical College Hospital while undergoing treatment, on or about21st or 22nd February, 1999.