MOTI RABIDAS Vs. THE STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE present appeal has been filed by the two appellants who have been found guilty and convicted for the offence punishable under Sections 302/34 of the Indian Penal Code (hereinafter in short as IPC) and Section 201/34 IPC by the learned 2nd Additional Sessions Judge, Munger in Sessions Trial No. 169 of 1991 by judgment and order of conviction and sentence dated 19.5.1992 and they have been sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for life and rigorous imprisonment for four years respectively. However, it was ordered that both the sentences shall run concurrently.

(2.) THE prosecution case starts from the first information report as given by the village Chowkidar Khurshid Khan (PW 1) to the Officer In -charge Shashi Bhushan Pandey (PW 6) being the officer Incharge of Ariyari Police Station, Sub -Division Sheikhpura, District Munger on 23.10.1990 at 9.00 am which is Ext. 3. It is stated therein that the village Chowkidar heard in the morning of 23.10.1990 that a mutilated dead body was lying outside the village. He went there and saw a dead body of a male aged about 40 years lying in the paddy field. There were blood stains on the road at a distance of about 15 yards from the field. The mouth was bleeding and blood was coming out of his anus. Upon this information Ariyari P.S. Case No. 87 of 1990 was registered under Sections 302/201 IPC against unknown on 23.10.1990 and investigation was taken up. In course of investigation it appears that on 30.10.1990 one Ram Ratan Ram (PW 4) reached the Police Station making inquiries about his brother Krishna Prasad @ Munshiji. The Investigating Officer disclosed that on 23.10.1990 a dead body was found abandoned on the road side. It is alleged that this Ram Ratan Ram (PW 4), from the description given and some of the clothes shown, identified the dead body as his elder brother's body. He then made a statement to the Investigating Officer, allegedly, stating that on 22.10.1990, appellant Moti Rabidas had come to his house and asked Krishna Prasad @ Munshiji (the alleged deceased) to accompany him to the house of one Ashok Babu who was a contractor and for whom they worked. He was to after the house of Ashok Babu while he would be away to his village to perform Chatt Puja. When, after a week, Krishna Prasad @ Munshiji did not return home, he had started making inquiries which led him to the Police Station. According to him, Munshi must have been killed, the motive was that appellant Moti Rabidas had developed illicit relationship with a girl labourer which was affecting the work and this matter had been reported to Ashok Babu, the contractor, by Krishna Prasad @ Munshiji and therefore, the two appellants had taken revenge by killing.

(3.) IN order to establish the case, the prosecution has examined in all six witnesses. PW 1 is Khurshid Khan, the village Chowkidar who gave first information and which was recorded and registered as FIR (Ext. 3). PW 2 is Kermo Rabidas, who, eight days after the occurrence, turned up claiming to be the eye witness to the occurrence of killing. PW 3 is Ram Prasad Mochi, who has been declared hostile and has not supported the prosecution case. PW 4 is Ram Ratan Ram the brother of the deceased. PW 5 is Dr. Rakesh Kumar Sinha, the doctor who performed the post mortem examination of the deceased at Munger Sadar Hospital and PW 6 is Shashi Bhushan Pandey, the Investigating Officer of the case.