RAJESH KUMAR Vs. STATE OF HARYANA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) RAJESH Kumar son of Daya Nand has filed the present appeal to challenge the conviction and sentence recorded against him by the Additional Sessions Judge, Sonepat on 12/14.9.2000.

(2.) BRIEFLY stated, the facts of the prosecution case as brought out in the testimony of its witnesses are that Shivam son of Sunil Goyal PW-1 was a student of Hindu Vidhya Peeth School, Sonepat. Appellant Rajesh Kumar was stated to be a former employee of Sunil Goyal PW-1, who had been relieved from his service one month prior to the abduction of Shivam PW-6 because his employer had detected some cases of theft being carried out by the appellant. Shobha Goyal wife of Sunil Goyal had been told by Shivam that even after leaving the employment, appellant used to visit to meet him in the school and she had asked the child to stay away from the appellant. On 5.5.1999 at 7.00 a.m. Shivam PW-6 was dropped by his father at Hindu Vidhya Peeth School, Sonepat. The school time was to end at 10.30 a.m. At that time, when Driver Pawan Kumar PW-4 had gone to pick up the child, he found that Shivam PW-6 was not present there. The class teacher Jyoti PW-3 had informed Pawan Kumar PW-4 that Shivam had been taken away from the school by Rajesh appellant about 15 minutes prior. Pawan Kumar PW-4 in turn informed his father Sunil Goyal, who suspecting foul play immediately lodged an FIR Ex. PA at 12.35 p.m. in Police Station City, Sonepat. The special report was delivered to the Illaqa Magistrate at 2.00 p.m.

(3.) THIS slip was taken into possession by the police through memo Ex. PC/1. Thereafter, the police made enquiries and in response thereto the rickshaw man had informed them that the slip had been given to him for delivering to a person who would claim the bag of child with instructions to collect the blue bag and deliver the same to him. As per the instructions of the Deputy Superintendent of Police though the blue bag was not handed over to the rickshaw man yet he was asked to take Mahabir Goyal and others to the place where the person, who had given the slip was standing. On reaching the premises of a school which was at a distance of about 1/2 kilometer from the Railway Station, Kota, the witnesses found a small crowd having gathered in front of the school, which was saying that a man called Rajesh had abandoned a school going child in the school premises and on going to the school premises, they had found Shivam sitting in the Principal's room on a chair. The child was, thereafter, evidently brought back to Sonepat where after completion of investigation, a challan was presented before the Illaqa Magistrate, who in turn committed the same to the Court of Sessions as the offence was exclusively triable by that Court.