PANDURANG CHINDHU AAGLE Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The appellant herein has been convicted and sentenced for life imprisonment under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for the murder of his son, wife and daughter-in-law. The appellant has been found guilty mainly on the testimony of his grand-daughter (PW1).

(2.) As per the prosecution story, the appellant was living with his wife and son Channalal as also daughter-in-law and their children in one part of the house at Goregaon in district Gondia. In the other half of the house, the elder son of the appellant was residing. PW1 Pooja, the granddaughter of the appellant, had come with her sister to stay during the vacation with her maternal uncle Channalal (son of the deceased) for about a month.

(3.) On 12.05.2014, PW1 Pooja was sleeping in the Chhapari (courtyard) of the house and at about 5 a.m. the appellant came with a Ghan (iron hammer) and upon entering the house, he assaulted his son Channalal on his head and further assaulted his wife and daughter-in-law with the iron hammer thereby seriously injuring all the three. It is further alleged that the appellant poured kerosene on his wife and daughter-in-law and set them on fire by lighting a match stick. Thereafter, the appellant walked out of the house where PW2 Raghunath, a neighbour, met him and to whom the appellant confessed about the aforesaid act committed by him. It is also alleged that PW4 Urmilabai, another neighbour living in a house adjacent to the said house where the incident occurred, saw the appellant standing at the door of the house having an iron hammer in his hand. It is further alleged that the injured persons were taken to the hospital where all three of them died.