KEDAR RAI Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) There are fourteen appellants before this Court. Each of them was convicted by the trial Court under Sections 302/34 and 201 of the Penal Code and sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for life and five years respectively for committing murder and for causing disappearance of evidence by carrying away the body of their victim. The two sentences were directed to run concurrently.

(2.) The case against the appellants was instituted on the basis of a written report (Ext. 1) handed over to the Officer Incharge of Danapur P.S. at 10 a.m. on 22.8.1980 by one Rajnath Singh (informant PW 3). In the written report it was stated that on the previous day (21.8.1980) at about 4 in the afternoon the informant along with his brother Baijnath Singh (the deceased) was at their plot of land situated by the side of the Dhab in the north of their village Dudhiyan. They had gone there for cutting some Masuriya crops (cattle fodder) grown on that piece of land. They had been on their land for a little while when the fourteen appellants arrived there variously armed; two of the appellants were carrying country made pistols while the rest were armed with spears, garansas and lathies. Threatening them with their arms the accused forcibly took them on a boat to the Dhab and (on reaching there) let the boat move freely. After the boat had proceeded to a little distance, all the accused started assaulting Baijnath Singh with their respective weapons. At this point the informant found an opportunity and he jumped from the boat into the water and started swimming towards the higher grounds, shouting and crying for help. The accused tried to hit him also but he was able to escape. His brother died as a result of the assault and the accused carried away his body on their boat. It was also said in the report that the occurrence was seen by some other villagers, namely, Satyanand Singh (PW 1), Kameshwar Singh (PW 2) and Panchanand Singh (PW 5). It was further stated that due to night fall and the flood conditions the report was being made in the following morning.

(3.) Coming next to the cause of the occurrence the written report said that Baijnath Singh had a piece of land near the house of the accused and they repeatedly used to pluck the maiz and cut away the Masuriya crop grown on that land. For this, quarrels had taken place between Baijnath Singh and the accused a number of times, prior to the occurrence Baijanth Singh had caught the accused cutting away his Masuriya crop and he had abused and roughed them up on that occasion. The accused who belonged to one family had formed a gang of criminals in the village and they indulged in commission of theft and dacoity etc. They killed Baijnath Singh in retaliation of that incident.