STATE OF MADHYA PRADESH Vs. RAMESH KUMAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE learned Second Additional Sessions Judge, Shahdol has referred this death reference under Section 366 (1) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (hereinafter referred to as 'the Code'), is heard along with Criminal Appeal No. 699 of 2004 filed by appellant Ramesh Kumar against his conviction and order of sentence of death under Section 302 of Indian Penal Code (for brevity 'the IPC) passed by learned Trial Judge vide impugned judgment dated 8th April, 2004 passed in Sessions Trial No. 160 of 1999. The accused/appellant has also challenged his conviction under Sections 364 and 201, IPC.

(2.) IN brief the case of prosecution is that on 5-1-1999 Amit Kumar (hereinafter referred to as 'the deceased') went to market to purchase some articles of house-hold, but when he did not turn up a missing report was lodged at Police Chowki, Rajnagar. It is said that on 14-1-1999 in the dawn hours one Sindhi s/o Becrshah Kol went to discharge excreta nearby the Nala situated near cremation ground, at some distance he found dogs were quarrelling and one dog was eating the human skull. Thereafter, he went to that place and found that some human bones were lying here and there and at some distance he found a shirt and a Baniyan of a boy in between the age of 10-12 years. The sleeve of the shirt was found to be stained with blood. Similarly, the Sando Baniyan was also stained with blood. He also noticed a trouser lying besmeared in the mud. At 3 P. M. , when his duty became off, he went to the police station and lodged a report on 14-1-1999 which was registered as Merg report.

(3.) ON the basis of merg intimation report, the Station Officer Incharge Shri Vijay Pratap Singh arrived at the spot, seized the skeleton, head, clothes (trouser, shirt, baniyan etc.) and issued notices to Leeladhar Sharma, Inder Chand, Pacho Lal, Ashok Mishra and Gynendra Singh and they identified the clothes to be of the deceased who was killed by unknown person. The investigating officer Shri Vijay Pratap Singh sent the skeleton to Community Health Centre, Bijuri where on examination by Dr. D. K. Kori the bones were found to be of human. Dr. Kori advised to send the skeleton to expert.