SANTHOSH MANOHAR CHAVAN Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE appellant Santosh Manohar Chavan was convicted and sentenced to imprisonment for life under section 302 of Indian Penal Code by the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Ratnagiri vide order dated 6th December, 1991 passed in Sessions Case No. 37 of 1989. Feeling aggrieved, he has come up in appeal before us. The deceased in this case is an unmarried girl Lata, who it appears was callously done to death sometimes on 2nd November, 1988 in Bhosteghat, village Verar, Police Station Khed, District Ratnagiri.

(2.) THE case for prosecution is that the deceased used to reside with her father P. W. 12 Ekanath Tatoba Naik at Bhandup, Bombay. It is said that she was working in a factory. The appellant who was an autho rickshaw driver was also a resident of Bhandup. It is alleged that both of them fell in love and often the appellant used to take her in the authorickshaw to her factory and leave her there. It has also been alleged by the prosecution that once the appellant had borrowed Rs. 1000/- (one thousand) from her but, only paid back Rs. 200/- (Two hundred) to her. Prosecution further alleges that appellant refused to marry her and told her that he was involved in an affair with another girl.

(3.) THE prosecution case further is that on 2nd November 1988, D. S. P. Shri Anand Byankatpat Mandya (P. W. 16) of Chiplun, Sub-Division, while returning from Chiplun to Khed in a police jeep at about 1. 30 p. m. found a constable standing near Bosteghat and on enquiring from him as to why he was standing there, was told that a corpse of a female was lying in Bhosteghat. Mr. Mandya on receiving the aforesaid information, personally went to the place where the corpse was lying and found that the same was of a girl who had been strangulated with a piece of cloth (odhani ). A wireless set had been installed in the jeep of Mr. Mandya and on wireless, he sent information about this to police station Khed and on receiving the aforesaid information, P. W. 15 P. S. I. Nagappa Kalappa Mali proceeded for the place of incident and registered Crime No. 175 of 1988 under section 302 of the Indian Penal Code at police station, Khed. Wheels of investigation were set in motion.