STATE OF J&K Vs. PANKAJ SINGH AND ORS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Feeling aggrieved of the impugned judgment dated 28.08.2012 passed by the learned Sessions Judge, Udhampur in case FIR No.40/2010 registered with Police Station Udhampur for the offences punishable under Sections 366/376-G/302/201/34 RPC, whereby acquitting the respondents, State has preferred the instant acquittal appeal.

(2.) The prosecution case, in brief, is that on 03.10.2008 source information was received in Police Station, Udhampur that an unidentified decomposed dead body of a woman was lying in a water channel near TMorh Udhampur. Since the death was found to have taken place in suspicious circumstances so Report No.22 was entered in Daily Diary dated 03.10.2008 and inquest proceedings in terms of Section 174 Cr.P.C. were initiated by ASI Madan Lal. He proceeded on spot, prepared the sketch map of the place of recovery of dead body. A Farad Surat Hall was prepared and dead body was sent for postmortem to District Hospital Udhampur. On 04.10.2008 dead body was identified to be that of Smt Makhno Devi D/o Devi Chand. A Board of Doctors conducted the postmortem of the deceased. The wearing apparels including blood/semen stained Shalwar of the deceased were seized and sealed. The statements of witnesses were recorded in terms of Section 175 Cr.P.C. Thereafter the inquest proceedings were entrusted to Sh. Manoj Dhar SI, on 04.10.2008 and finally to Ayaz Ahmed Sheikh Dy.SP on 25.09.2009. He dispatched the Shalwar of the deceased to FSL. The report was received from FSL and as per the FSL report and statement of one Parshotam Kumar, it was found to be a case of rape and murder. So a case u/s 376/302/34 RPC was registered and investigation was handed over to Padamdev Singh SI. He seized the documents and arrested accused Rajan Kumar on the basis of suspicious u/s 54 Cr.P.C. on 11.02010. During investigation, he confessed that he along with other accused, committed rape upon the deceased against her wish and thereafter killed her by throwing down the bridge in a water channel. The confessional statement of the accused was recorded and all the accused were arrested. On the basis of confession so made the place of occurrence was identified. Identification parade of accused Pritam Kumar was conducted through PW Salim in presence of Executive Magistrate Ist Class. Statements of witnesses were recorded in terms of Section 164-A Cr.P.C. and u/s 161 Cr.P.C. The blood samples of accused were collected for DNA test and forwarded to CFSL Hyderabad. During investigation it was found that on 25.09.2008 at about 7.30 P.M. the deceased was walking on road side near T-Morh Udhampur. Accused No.1 forcibly kidnapped her towards a secluded place where all the accused gang raped her and thereafter killed her by pushing her down the nallah. The Cell Phone and purse of the deceased was taken by accused Pankaj Singh. It also came to the force during investigation that the deceased had met PW Vijender Singh alias Deepak on 25.09.2009 in Udhampur Market, who asked his friend Rakesh Rana to drop the deceased on his motor cycle at Umara Morh. Thereafter Vijender rang the deceased on her cell phone No.9858035096 from his cell phone No.9906319850 but he only heard the screams of the deceased where the deceased could not be traced alive. After conclusion of the investigation it was found that accused had committed offences u/s 302/376-G/366/201/34 RPC and accordingly charge sheet found its way to the Court.

(3.) We have considered the arguments of learned counsel for State as well as respondents and gone through the evidence on record, and judgment of Court below.