AKLA RAJWAR Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal is directed against the judgment and order of conviction and sentence passed by the District & Sessions Judge, Hazaribagh in S.T. No. 51 of 1988 whereunder the sole appellant Akla Rajwar has been convicted for commission of offence under Section 302 of the IPC and sentenced to undergo imprisonment for life.

(2.) The prosecution case as disclosed in the first information report (Ext. 3) and the evidence of witnesses is that the deceased Badri Ram of village Banji within Mandu P.S. in the district of Hazaribagh was having some pain in his legs and used to visit the clinic of one Dr. Chatturvedi at Ramgarh for his treatment. On 3.6.1987 in the afternoon at about 3.00 p.m. he left his home for going to the said Dr. Chatturvedi for treatment, but did not return home : As the deceased was in the habit of going to either village Karma where his daughter was married or Digwar where he was himself married, whenever he visited Ramgarh, the inmates of his house did not suspect anything foul. However, on 4.6.1987, one of his grand sons Umesh Ram (PW 2) was informed that his grand father had been murdered and his dead body was lying by the side of a cold storage near village Sewata at Belatand. He informed his uncle (PW 1) Chandranath Ram, first informant Narayan Ram (PW 5), another son of the deceased was also informed at the colliery where he works as a mining sirdar. All of them went to the place of occurrence to find the dead body of the deceased. Some persons including relatives of village Karma and Digwar v/ere present there already on being informed of the occurrence. An attempt was made to inform the police at Kuju police outpost during the same night, but due to absence of the officer incharge, no information could be lodged. When the Officer In-charge arrived at the outpost next morning, FIR was lodged with him by PW 5. The police officer who recorded fardbeyan of PW 5, namely, SI Basist Narayan Singh (PW 12) of Kuju police outpost went to the place of the occurrence, found the dead body lying there and therefore held inquest and prepared inquest report in presence of the witnesses. The dead body was sent to Hospital at Hazaribagh for autopsy, and on such autopsy, it was found that the deceased had been strangulated to death.

(3.) In course of investigation, some witnesses surfaced to say that in the evening of 3.6.1987, the deceased had dropped at village Sewata by the side of the main road between Hazaribagh and Ranchi, purchased an egg from one Satya Narayan Prasad (PW 8) and he also purchased wine from a nearby liquor shop and consumed the egg and liquor there. Thereafter, on his request the rickshaw of the present appellant, who is resident of the same place, was arranged by those witnesses for taking the deceased to village Digwar where he had been married. The appellant left that place at about 5.30 or 6 in the evening on that very day taking the deceased on his rickshaw for going to Digwar. It was also suspected that on way to Digwar the deceased had been done to death hardly at a distance of about 1 km from the liquor shop, most probably for being relieved of his money which he was carrying with him. As the deceased had left that place on the rickshaw of the appellant, he was suspected to be the murderer, or one of the murderers. In course of investigation, complicity of another person named Suresh Rajwar of the same village had also come to light. Therefore, both the present appellant and Suresh Rajwar were charged under Section 302 read with Section 34 of the IPC for committing the murder of the deceased Badri Ram in furtherance of their common intention.