ADI BHUMIANI Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE appellant Adi Bhumiani was tried on a charge of murdering one Gupta Pangi, a boy aged 4. on 15-11-54 punishable under Section 302 I. P. C. and alternatively on a charge of causing disappearance of the dead body of Gupto Pangi with the intention of screening herself from legal punishment punishable under Section 201 I. P. C. and was sentenced to transportation for life for the offence of murder and in view pf her conviction under Section 302 I. P. C. , was acquitted of the charge under Section 201 I. P. C. , by the learned Sessions Judge, Koraput;

(2.) ONE Gobindo Pangi (P. W. 16) of Bhurdi-put within Boipariguda Police Station had about six sons. Purusottam (P. W. 1) who was his eldest son was living separately from him in a house at a little distance from that of his father. Dalimbo (P. W. 2) was the married wife of Purusottam and had a daughter and a son Gupto Pangi, the deceased. About the year 1952, Purusottam brought the appellant Adi Bhumiani, a woman aged about 30 and who was divorced by her husband, from the neighbouring village Mundiguda as his mistress and kept her in his house. Both the appellant and Dalimbo (the married wife) continued to live together in the house of Purusottam and Gupto Pangi the deceased was being taken almost every day to Gobindo, his grandfather, in the morning. On 14-11-54, Purusottam (P. W. . 1) slept in his paddy field during the night. In the next morning that is on 15-11-54, the deceased boy who was sleeping with Dalimbo wanted his mother to take him to the house of Gobindo. The appellant invited the boy with a proposal to take him and on previous occasions also the appellant was taking the boy to Govindo's house. The appellant took the boy in her arms and left the house to take him to Govindo's house. The prosecution case is that instead of going towards the house of Gobindo, she took the boy in a different direction to a stream which runs from south to north in the outskirt of the village Bhrudiput. She crossed the small stream and went to the bigger stream in which a dam was Constructed with twigs and earth and which was 13 cubits wide in order to arrest the flow of water, and a 'tenda' had been fixed there to draw water in consequence of which the place was locally known as Tenda Khun-to Munda. it appears that the appellant took a knife used for cutting vegetables from the house and she suddenly stabbed the neck of the boy with the knife in three places. When the boy cried out "mother, Mother", she pressed her fingers on the neck of the boy and throttled him to death. The prosecution case is that afterwards she concealed the dead body at the foot of the dam and placed mud, twigs and two logs of wood (M. Os. IV and IV/a) on it. Then she left the place and went to her mother's house in Mundinguda with the Knife (M. O. III ). It is alleged that She left the knife and four silver rings used in her fingers (M. Os. II to II/c) in Mundinguda and returned to Bhurudiput after a few hours. When the members of the family of the deceased were about to search the boy, she intimated that she had not taken the boy with her. She left the village immediately afterwards.

(3.) THE appellant denied all the prosecution allegations and stated that she slept in the house of Purusottam in the night of 14-11-54 and early next morning she went away to reap paddy; and that when she returned home, she was assaulted and so she left the village. No defence evidence was adduced by her.