ANANDA DAGU BENDKOLI Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The appellant herein is convicted for offence punishable under Section 302 and sentenced to suffer imprisonment for life and to pay fine of Rs. 1000/- i.d. to suffer R.I. for three months; he is also convicted for offence punishable under Section 201 of Indian Penal Code and sentenced to suffer R.I. for five years and to pay fine of Rs. 1000/- i.d. to suffer R.I. for three months in Sessions Case No. 131 of 2003 by II Ad hoc Addl. Sessions Judge, Nasik. Hence this appeal. Such of the facts which are necessary for decision of this appeal is as under:

(2.) P.W. 1 Prabhakar Shelar was attached to Harsul Police Station as a Police Head Constable. According to him, 9/10/2002 at about 3 p.m. Dagu came to Harsule Police Station and lodged a report that his son Ananda and his daughter-in-law Suman had been to the house of Pandurang i.e. the father of Suman on 5/9/2002 and had not returned. He further contended that upon enquiry with Pandurang it was revealed that they left the house of Pandurang on 13/9/2002. He had also enquired with the relatives and according to them, the couple had not visited any one of them. On the basis of his report, a missing complaint No. 8 of 2002 was registered and search had initiated. On 4/6/2003 P.W. 1 was at the police station. Pandurang and their relatives brought the accused Ananda to the police station. In the presence of others, P.W. 1 enquired with Ananda in respect of whereabouts of Suman and he disclosed that he had throttled Suman to death on 13/9/2002. He had also disclosed that he had buried her dead body near Nala near hills of Dhulai. P.W. 1 had accompanied Ananda when he had led the relatives and the police to the discovery of the dead body of Suman. Missing report lodged by P.W. 1 is at Exh. 8. The said initiation of proceedings in the form of missing report is not seriously challenged by the defence.

(3.) P.W. 2 Pandurang Khade is the father of deceased Suman. According to him, Accused-Ananda and Suman had come to his house for pola festival. They stayed in the house of P.W. 2 for one week and thereafter at about 5 p.m. they decided to return to their own village. When P.W. 2 offered to pay fare for the S.T. Bus, the accused/appellant said that he would prefer to walk to his village. On the next day, Dagu had been to the house of P.W. 2 to enquire about the couple. However, he was informed by the father of the deceased that they had left the village. P.W. 2 then proceeded from village to village in search of Ananda and Suman. According to P.W. 2, after about 10 months of the missing of Suman, he had been to village Hatnyaara near Waghad Dam. He had been to meet one Kacharu Gaikwad and he asked him whether he had employed any person. At that time, he saw the accused Ananda coming towards the house of Kacharu Gaikwad. Upon seeing P.W. 2 Ananda began to flee from the spot. Ananda was chased, however could not be accosted. Kacharu Gaikwad then informed P.W. 2 that he had engaged Ananda prior to 8 months and that Ananda was introduced to him by one Motiram who is the relative of Ananda. P.W. 2 along with relatives then went to Motiram. Motiram could not answer any of the questions put forth by P.W. 2 in respect of missing of Suman. By then, the accused had left the house of Kacharu Gaikwad. P.W. 2 then went to his village. P.W. 2 then went to the house of Motiram along with his relatives. They found Ananda in the house of Motiram. They asked him about me whereabouts of Suman. Initially, he was not prepared to reply. However, P.W. 2 and the villagers thought it fit to threaten him of dire consequences and it worked. The accused then disclosed that he had killed Suman by throttling P.W. 2 and the relatives brought the accused to Harsul Police Station. At the police station accused Ananda informed them that he had throttled Suman to death and buried her course near a nala near Dhulai hills. P.W. 2 then lodged a report at the police station and set the law into motion. The report is at Exh. 11. The accused then led them to the place where he had buried the corpse of Suman. The accused removed stones and the skeleton was there. Saree, blouse, her neckless and pieces of bangles were still on the skeleton. P.W. 2 identified the clothes and articles of Suman. From the colour of heirs also he identified that the skeleton is of Suman. P.W. 2 has identified me articles in the Court. According to P.W. 2, his another son-in-law Rajaram was residing with him and cultivating his agricultural land as P.W. 2 did not have any son. According to P.W. 2 Rajaram used to talk to Suman and that had probably enraged Ananda. It is elicited in the cross-examination that Ananda is also related to him. Similarly, prosecution witnesses Mangalu, Raghunath are his relatives. The suggestions that he is deposing falsely are flatly denied by P.W. 2.