BUDHRAM ORAON Vs. THE STATE OF JHARKHAND

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The appellant was put on trial on the accusation of committing murder of Maniyaro Orain and also for disposing of her dead -body to screen himself from legal punishment. He was also charged under Ss. 3/4 of the Prevention of Witch Craft Act.

(2.) The Court having found the appellant guilty for committing murder of Maniyaro Orain and disposing of her dead -body, convicted the appellant under Ss. 302 and 201 of the Indian Penal Code vide judgment dated 22.07.2004 and sentenced him to undergo imprisonment for life for the offence punishable under Sec. 302 of the Indian Penal Code and also to undergo rigorous imprisonment for 5 years for the offence punishable under Sec. 201 of the Indian Penal Code vide its order dated 23.07.2004. Both the sentences were ordered to run concurrently.

(3.) The case of the prosecution, as has been, projected in the 'fardbeyan' (Ext. 5) is that on 25.03.2003 while the informant, Ram Sai Oraon (P.W. 9) and his father, John Oraon (P.W. 6) were there in their house along with the deceased, Maniyaro Orain, the mother of the informant, the appellant, Budhram Oraon came to his house at about 7 p.m. and asked from the informant about the whereabout of his mother. The informant told the appellant that his mother is cooking food. On getting this information, the appellant went inside the house, caught -hold of the deceased and took out her by pulling her hair and brought her at Aakhara, situated outside of the house where the appellant gave tangi blows over her neck. In the meantime, when the informant, Ram Sai Oraon (P.W. 9) and his father, John Oraon (P.W. 6) came to rescue the deceased, the appellant made an attempt to assault them, on account of which, both of them P.Ws. 6 and 9 returned home out of fear and closed the door. The appellant also came there and tried to open the door, but did not succeed. After half an hour, when the informant and his father came to 'Akhara', they did find only blood being spilled over the ground. However, the dead -body was not there. In the next morning (26.03.2003), when the villagers assembled, the informant and the villagers by tracing the dragging mark, came near an orchard and found blood being spilled near a well. They suspected the dead -body being thrown in the well. With some object like that of stick, they could detect that the dead -body is there in the well.