THAKUR MAHTO AND ORS Vs. STATE OF JHARKHAND

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The appellants were charged and tried for committing offence under section 302, 201, 120-B and 498-A of Indian Penal Code. The appellant-Hemraj Mahto was also charged under section 494 of the Indian Penal Code. The charge was of causing culpable homicide amounting to murder of Tara Devi and Kanti Kumari and for concealment of the dead bodies. By the impugned judgment, the appellants have been convicted and sentenced to undergo life imprisonment under section 302 I.P.C. Further, all the accused are convicted and sentenced to undergo R/1 for two years under Section 201 I.P.C. and R/1 for one year under Section 498-A I.P.C.

(2.) The prosecution was launched on the basis of the fardbeyan of the informant-Sita Ram Mahto dated 3.4.1995.

(3.) The prosecution case, in brief, is that her sister-Tara Devi was married with the appellant-Hemraj Mahto @ Harihar Mahto about 10-12 years ago. Thereafter she was living in her in-laws house. It is alleged that even after marriage, the appellants used to demand some articles as dowry and used to torture Tara Devi(deceased). The informant and his family members used to satisfy the demand made now and then and in that process, they had given one T.V. to the appellant-Hemraj (husband of Tara Devi). The appellant-Thakur Mahto(father-in-law), appellant-Hemraj Mahto (husband), appellant-Karmi Devi (mother-in-law) and appellant-Geeta Devi(sister-in-law) of the deceased even thereafter used to torture her and were demanding further dowry. On 2.4.1995, appellant-Hemraj Mahto went to the informant and asked him to intervene and settle the quarrel among the family members. The informant and other family members had assured him to reach Godhia(appellants village) on 3.4.1995 for that purpose. In the morning of 3.4.1995, the cousin brother(mausera) of the informant came and informed that his sister and sisters daughter were traceless since 2.4.1995. The informant and others went to village-Godhia and made hectic search for her sister and sisters daughter. In course of search, they found the dead bodies of his sister-Tara Devi and sisters daughter in the well of Chando Mistry. The villagers disclosed to the informant that the accused-appellant had stopped the food to his sister since last two days and there was quarrel among them. It was alleged that the accused-appellant killed the informants sister and the sisters daughter and threw their dead bodies in the well.