UMAKANTA MAHANTA Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The appeal is directed against the judgment and order dated 1-12-1986 of the learned Sessions Judge, Mayurbhanj convivicting the appellant under Ss. 302, IPC and 25(a) of the Arms Act and sentencing him respectively to imprisonment for life and R.I. for six months, the sentences being directed to run concurrently.

(2.) . Prosecution case briefly stated, is that the parties belonged to village Kendumundi under Jharapokharia P. S., district Mayurbhanj. The incident took place around 9 O'Clock in the night of 23-3-1985. The deceased Surendra along with Girish (P.W. 9), Sachindra (P.W. 2) and Bira (P.W.3) had been to answer the call of nature to a pond in the Bari of P.W. 9. After easing P. Ws 2 and 3 left the place while P.W.9 and the deceased stayed back and were washing themselves after easing. At that time two persons came near the bank of the pond seeing whom the deceased stood up and flashed the torch he was carrying and at that time the person standing behind the accused also flashed the torch towards the deceased. At that point of time the accused fired at the deceased from a country made gun. The deceased fell down and cried out for help. At that time P.W.9 was nearby. Hearing the alarm P.Ws. 2, 3 and others came near the deceased and found him lying with bleeding injuries on his left side chest, belly and arm and he was groaning under pain. The deceased was immediately removed to Bangriposi hospital, where he was given first-aid and his dying declaration recorded by the doctor, P.W. 14. No facility for treatment being available at Bangriposi P.H.C., P.W. 14 referred the case to the District Headquarters hospital at Baripada. It appears that from Baripada, the deceased was being taken to Cuttack for treatment, but he died on the way at about 7 p.m. on 24-3-85, P.W.3 in the meantime had reported about the incident at Jhadpokharia P.S. in the night of 23-3-1985 at about 1-30 a.m. P.W. 15 the officer-in-charge of the P. S. registered a case and took up investigation. He visited the spot, examined witnesses, made seizures of broken pieces of country made gun and took various other steps in the investigation of the case. P.W.5 the A.S.I. of police attached to Jhadpokharia P. S. held inquest over the dead body of the deceased at Baripada hospital and sent the dead body for post-mortem examination. P.W.8, the successor in office of P.W. 15 took charge of investigation of the case on 27-5-85, and on completion of investigation submitted charge sheet against the accused.

(3.) The plea of the appellant is one of complete denial of his complicity in the crime. He has specifically pleaded that he never fired the gun nor had he ever purchased any explosive substance. He had been falsely implicated on account of previous ill-feeling with the deceased and P.W. 9. His further plea is that some other unknown person might have fired the gun at the deceased and that he has been falsely implicated in this case.