MAHENDRA MANDAL Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal is directed against the judgment of Shri Kashi Nath Roy, 6th Additional Sessions Judge, Bhagalpur, in Sessions Trial No.236 of 1986 dated 23/07/1987 by which all the appellants were convicted u/S.302 read with S.149 of the Indian Penal Code (hereinafter to be referred as "the Code ") and Sentenced to undergo imprisonment for life. They were also convicted for the offence u/S.364 of the Code and sentenced to undergo 10 years' rigorous imprisonment. Shyam Sundar Mandal was further convicted u/S.201 of the Code and sentenced to under go 7 years rigorous imprisonment. All the rest appellants were further convicted u/S.201 of the Code and sentenced to undergo 3 years' rigorous imprisonment. All the sentences were ordered to run concurrently.

(2.) On 21-4-1985 in between 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. (which was the first day of Baisakh Shukul Paksh) Yaddu Paswan, the Chaukidar (P.W. 17) was returning along with deceased Paddu Paswan and Bideshi Paswan, from village Majhaulia. Yaddu Paswan had been on patrolling duty in the village that night. As they reached the Purbi Bahiyar in village Gobindpur, Police Station, Nath Nagar, District Bhagalpur, the appellants encirculed them and started assaulting them. Informant Yaddu Paswan managed to escape at about 9 p.m. The other two persons Paddu Paswan and Bideshi Paswan were carried away by the appellants. The informant, Yaddu Paswan, informed the villagers and his family members. Some of them along with the informant went out in search of those two persons, Paddu and Bideshi. They searched for them but those two persons along with the appellants could not be located. In the morning also the villagers started searching for those two missing persons, namely, Paddu and Bideshi and came to the place in Purbi Bahiyar. At that place they found a blood stained towel (Ext. 1), a Chunauti (Chewing tobacco Dibiya) (Ext. VI) and 40 paise allegedly belonging to Paddu Paswan. There was a trail of blood also found by them. One iron Kanti and a pair of Hawai chappal, allegedly belonging to the appellants, are also found there. The next day, at about 8-30 a.m. i.e. on 224-85, Yaddu Paswan lodged a written report with the Police disclosing the cause of occurrence to be a goat theft case lodged against the appellants by Paddu and Bideshi for which they were under pressure for compromising the same with the appellants.

(3.) The investigating officer (P.W.18) apprehended appellant Shyam Sundar Mandal on 24-4-85 who made some confessional statements. Appellant Shyam Sundar Mandal confessed that the bodies of Paddu and Bideshi had been kept concealed under the sands of river Andhri by them and he was taken by the Police to the said Andhri river and from its bed the bodies of both the persons i.e. Paddu and Bideshi were recovered in presence of the Block Development Officer (P.W. 16). A seizure list had been prepared in presence of the Block Development Officer (Ext.7). The investigating officer also seized all the material exhibits and prepared a seizure list. A Garassa (Ext. VII) had been recovered from a pucca well of Bidu Bhushan Pandey in Munnachak Bahivar on the confessional statement of appellant Shyam Sundar Mandal, and the investigating officer prepared a seizure list (Ext. 9/1). Further a spade (Ext. VIII) was recovered from the field of Sikandar Mandal in the same Bahiyar on the pointing out by Shyam Sundar Mandal, the appellant, and another seizure list (Ext. 9/5) was prepared for the same. Paddu was the local chaukidar and Bideshi was his uncle. According to the prosecution story, while the two deceased and the informant were going on patrolling duty they had seen the appellants taking toddy in village Nautolia situated on the eastern side of the village. The appellants had waited for their return. It was further said that the deceased and the informant belonged to Dusadh Toli in village Gobindpur, whereas, the appellants belonged to Mandal Toli of the same village and enmity was going on between the two groups from before.