STATE OF M P Vs. RAMMI ALIAS RAMESHWAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) BRUTAL murder committed in broad day light in a running bus in presence of driver, conductor and passengers escaped unpunished by the impugned judgment of acquittal passed by the Sessions Judge against which the State in appeal and the complainant in revision (Cr. Revision No. 620/86) have approached this Court. Both the cases are being decided by this common judgment.

(2.) THERE was bitter enmity between the three accused persons on one side and the deceased on the other. Deceased Sardar Singh, his brother Shyam Singh (PW 3) and Ramdulare (PW 9) were accused of murdering Channa Babu, real brother of accused Rammi and Chhinga. The deceased and the other abovementioned accused in that case were acquitted against which an appeal in the High Court was pending.

(3.) ACCORDING to the case of the prosecution, on 20-7-1985, deceased Sardar Singh who was a Home Guard in his dress was travelling in a bus of M. P. S. R. T. C. from Babai. The three accused persons boarded the bus at a turning towards Naseerabad and at about 5. 10 in the afternoon, with knives and Ballam, made a murderous assault on the deceased. The assault caused seating capacity of 49. Many of them got terrified. They got down and ran away. The assault attracted attention of the conductor Ramashre (PW 8) and driver of the bus Jabbar Khan (PW 12) who questioned the accused and stopped the bus by giving a call. The assailants caused as many as eleven injuries all over the body of Sardar Singh who died in the bus itself. The bus was taken by the driver to the Police Station Babai and F. I. R. (Ex. P/11) was recorded within less than half an hour i. e. at 17. 40 hrs. on the same day on the version given by conductor of the bus Ramashre (PW. 8 ). According to the driver and conductor of the bus, named above, they knew that assailants from before and they could easily identify them. Their names were also mentioned in the F. I. R. by the conductor, Ramashre, the first informant of the incident to the police.