SATRUGHANA LOHAR Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is an appeal from Jail.The accused Satrughana Lohar faced trial on charges under Sections 449 and 302 I.P.C. The Court below did not find him guilty under Section 302 I.P.C. but convicted him under Section 304 I.P.C. as well as under Section 449 I.P.C. He was sentenced to suffer R. I. for ten years under Section 304 I.P.C. but no separate sentence for the offence under Section 449 I.P.C. was awarded.

(2.) The prosecution case may be summarised as under :The deceased was a resident of a hut in a Basti in the Coal gate area at Bondamunds. On the fateful night he was staying in his house alone. The accused is also a resident of a hut adjacent to the hut of the deceased. On the night of occurrence, his wife was also away to her father's place. In the night of 10-9-1993 at about 10 P.M. the informant (P.W.1) who was a neighbour of the deceased, heard cries of the deceased saying "Bacho, Bacho, Mari Douchi" coming from the hut of the deceased. On hearing it he rushed towards the hut of the deceased. Two other neighbours have also arrived there. The hut of the deceased had no door and it was dark inside. While the informant and two neighbours arrived at the spot, they noticed the accused coming out of the hut of the deceased holding a small axe in his hand. They found the accused throwing the axe on the roof of the house. He did not allow the informant and other neighbours to enter inside the hut but asked them to go back saying that the matter would be settled in the next day morning. The informant and other neighbours who had gathered there, left the spot out of fear. In the next day morning June Munda (P.W.2) went to the house of the deceased and found the dead body lying inside the hut in a pool of blood. He immediately informed the matter to P.W.1 whereupon the informant and some other persons went inside the hut of the deceased. They noticed the dead body of the deceased lying in a pool of blood with multiple chop injuries. They searched for the accused but he could not be found. They believed that the accused had killed the deceased in the previous night with the help of an axe. Soon thereafter, the informant along with two other persons went to the Police-station and lodged the F.I.R. In course of investigation, the accused was arrested and while in custody he led the Police to the Railway locoshed at Bandamanda and gave recovery of axe in presence of the witnesses from the place of concealment. The investigation resulted in filing of charge-sheet and that is how the accused was put on trial.

(3.) The defence was a plea of innocence.