DILIP DAS @ RABI Vs. STATE OF WEST BENGAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal has been preferred by the appellants assailing the judgment, order of conviction and sentence dated June 13, 2007 and June 14, 2007 respectively passed by the learned Additional District & Sessions Judge, 5th Fast Track Court, Malda in Sessions Trial No. 19(7)2006 arising out of Sessions Case No. 105 of 2006 thereby holding the appellants guilty of the commission of offence punishable under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code (hereinafter referred to as IPC) and sentencing them to suffer rigorous imprisonment for life each and to pay a fine of Rs. 5,000/- each in default to suffer further rigorous imprisonment for 2 years each with a direction for set off as per provisions of Section 428 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (hereinafter referred to as Cr.P.C.).

(2.) On February 2, 2005 one Kajal Kumar Das, since deceased, lodged a written complaint before the officer-in-charge English Bazar P.S. to the effect that on February 19, 2005 at about 4.30 in the afternoon his brother-in-law Santosh Kumar Bhowmik, the victim, without any intimation to anybody went out of his office room of Ma Tara Transport, situated at Mangalbari but when he did not return back till mid night they started searching for him but he was not found. On that day (February 20, 2005) at about 4 in the night they got information from English Bazar P.S. about lying of a dead body in the house of the appellant Dilip Das @ Rabi Das at Ganipur village, who was the driver of Matara Transport. After getting such information he along with Ajit Ghosh, Partha Sarathi Paul and Susil Saha went there and found the dead body of the victim Santosh Kumar Bhoumik lying there having bleeding condition in the varanda of the residential house of the appellant. He was of firm belief that the appellants Dilip Das and his wife Nipa Das with an ill motive murdered the victim.

(3.) On the basis of the written complaint of Kajal Das, English Bazar P.S. Case No. 88 dated 20, 2005 was started against the appellants under Section 302/34 IPC by P.W.22. He then himself took up investigation of the case and thereafter on his transfer this case was investigated by P.W.21 and thereafter on completion of investigation a charge sheet was submitted against the appellants under Section 302/34 IPC.