POPAT KHANDU PISAL Vs. THE STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Appellant in Criminal Appeal No. 982 of 2009 was the accused No. 1 while the appellants in Criminal Appeal No. 966 of 2008 were accused Nos. 2, 4 and 5 in Sessions Case No. 635 of 2002. These appellants/accused have challenged the judgment dated 21st August, 2008 whereby the 2nd Ad hoc Addl. Sessions Judge, Bombay, at Sewree convicted and sentenced each of them to suffer life imprisonment and to pay fine of Rs. 2000/- each in default, to suffer Rigorous imprisonment for one month in respect of offence under Section 302 r/w. 149 and 120B of IPC and to suffer life imprisonment and to pay fine Rs. 1000/- in default rigorous imprisonment for one month each for the offence under Section 364 r/w. 149 and 120-B I.P.C. Briefly stated the case of the prosecution is as under:

(2.) The accused Raosaheb and Madhukar (deceased A3) were the residents of Kaldhari and were living at Lower Parel, Mumbai. P.W.3 Bhanudas Pisal, a co-villager who had come to Mumbai learnt that Ravindra was having illicit relations with the wife of Raosaheb (A-2) and that Raosaheb had conspired with Popat (A-1), Sanjay (A-5) and Sandeep (A-4) to kill Ravindra. PW-3 passed on this information to PW-1 Ankush. P.W.3 Bhanudas Pisal informed P. W. 1 that the accused Raosahcb had paid Rs. 3000/- to the accused Sanjay Popat and Sandeep to kill Ravindra. He further told P. W. 1 that the accused had initially planned to call Ravindra at Dadar on 20.3.2002 under the pretext of joining them for drinks and then to kill him. The said plan did not succeed as Ravindra did not come to Dadar. Subsequently, as per the instructions of Raosaheb, accused Sanjay, Popat and Sandeep took Ravindra to Mankhurd. P.W.3 further informed P.W.I that while Raosaheb and Madhukar (deceased A-3) were forcing him to accompany them to Mankhurd, a policeman on duty got suspicious and took them to Dadar Police Station. The said policeman took their personal search and recovered a knife and an iron rod from the possession of Raosaheb (A-2). The police released him but detained Raosaheb and Madhukar. P.W.3 further informed P. W. 1 that since the said date he had not seen Ravindra, Sandeep and his associates at Dadar and surrounding locality.

(3.) Based on the said information, P.W.1 lodged a complaint/FIR dated 1.4.2002 (Exh. 19) against the aforesaid appellants and Madhukar (deceased A-3) for kidnapping his son Ravindra in order to murder. Pursuant to the said complaint, P. W.8 P.S.I. Deepak Chavan registered C.R. No. 113 of 2002 under section 120(B), 364 r/w. 34 I.P.C. at the Byculla Police Station. The accused Popat was arrested on 1.4.2002. On the same day, while he was in custody, accused Popat expressed his willingness to show the place where the body of Ravindra as well as the stone used for causing death of Ravindra was thrown. The said statement was recorded by P. W.8 under panchanama drawn in the presence of P.W.2 Mr. Baban Bhagwan Pawar. The body of Ravindra as well as the stone which was used for causing death of Ravindra was recovered from the spot of the incident as per the disclosure statement made by the accused Popat. The said recovery panchanama is at Exh. 22.