PABITRA DEY Vs. STATE OF TRIPURA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This criminal appeal is directed against the Judgment dated 04.10.02 passed by the learned Addl. Sessions Judge, North Tripura, Kailashahar in Sessions Trial No. 19(NT/K) of 2002 convicting the appellants herein Pabitra Dey, Parimal Dey, Niresh Malakar, Subodh Malakar and Rabi Malakar under Section 302 read with Section 149 of Indian Penal Code (for short, 'IPC') and sentencing them to suffer imprisonment for life and to pay a fine of Rs. 10,000/- each, in default, to suffer imprisonment for two years more. They have also been sentenced to suffer one year imprisonment under Section 148 IPC. All the sentences have been directed to be run concurrently. There is a further direction to pay 50 percent of the fine money, if realized, to the wife of the deceased Sisir Ranjan Chowdhury if she is alive or in the event of her death to the next kin of the deceased.

(2.) We have heard Mr. S. Kar Bhowmik, learned counsel for the appellants and Mr. D. Sarkar, learned Public Prosecutor for the State.

(3.) The: prosecution version in brief is that on 09.09.99 at about 10.30 a.m., deceased Sisir Ranjan Chowdhury went to a marshy land adjacent to his house on the south. He was an old man living with his wife, son, daughters and grand children. The marshy land known as 'doba land' was in his possession for a long period and he erected temporary bamboo fencing around the same. On the fateful day and the time aforementioned, he saw five appellants Pabitra Dey, Parimal Dey, Niresh Malakar, Subodh Malakar, Rabi Malakar and another Pranay Dey (absconder) removing his boundary fencing around the doba land. They were armed with lathi and spade. Sisir Ranjan objected to their said action. Instantly he was attacked and beaten by lathi and spade by the said assailants causing severe head injuries. He lost senses. His daughter Smt. Runu Bala Dey (PW1), daughter-in-law Smt. Sumati Dhar (PW 5) and grand daughter Smt. Suparna Dhar (PW 3) rushed to the place of occurrence to witness the assault whereby Sisir Ranjan was done to death by the said assailants. The occurrence attracted other persons also with whose help the injured was taken to the hospital where he breathed his last at 9 p.m. within a period of 12 hours.