- (1.)These criminal appeals are directed against the judgment and order passed by the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Fast Track, 2nd Court, Sealdah, 24-Parganas (South) convicting the appellants under sections 364 /302 /34 of the Indian Penal Code and sentencing them thereunder to suffer rigorous imprisonment for 10 years and imprisonment for life respectively with fine and default clause. The case of the prosecution in brief is as follows:
The deceased Viyas Thakur had a VCD Shop situated besides the Central Dairy. On November 14,2002 at about 7.30 p.m. the deceased along with Raj Kumar Singh PW/12 and Bablu Shaw PW/13 were sitting together in his said shop and were gossiping. At that time both the appellants came to the shop together and asked the deceased for a VCD Player and CDs. Since the deceased expressed his inability to supply them VCD player and CDs as the same were not available with him, the appellants started abusing them filthily and forcibly dragged him out from his shop and took him to some unknown destination. Soon thereafter the mother of the victim came there and she was informed about such incident by the PW/12 and PW/13. She then in turn reported the incident to the local police station and a specific case for an offence punishable under sections 364 /34 of the Indian Penal Code was registered against the appellants. On the next morning around 8.40 hours the dead body of victim Viyas was found in the railway track near Santi Colony. The dead body was found truncated into three pieces.

(2.)In the trial the appellants were charged under sections 364 /302 /201 /34 of the Indian Penal Code and the prosecution to prove its case examined as many as 19 witnesses.
Out of the said 19 witnesses examined by the prosecution, PW/1 and the PW/2 are the official photographer and plan maker attached to the Calcutta Police. The PW/3 is also a photographer who took the photographs of the dead body and PW/4 is the owner of the studio. The PW/5 and the PW/6 are the seizure witnesses. The PW/7 is the Autopsy Surgeon. The PW/8 was the doctor attached to the R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital where the dead body was first taken. The PW/9 is a police constable. The PW/10 is a police officer held the inquest. The PW/11 is the mother of the victim. The PW/12 and PW/ 13 are the friends of the deceased and the PW/14 is his elder brother. The PW/ 15 and PW/16 are the witnesses to the inquest. The PW/17 is an Officer attached to the Calcutta Electric Supply Corporation. The PW/18 and PW/19 are the Investigating Officers of the case.

(3.)The learned counsels appearing on behalf of the appellants assailed the order of conviction and sentence on the following grounds:
(a) Both the PW/12 and PW/13 are the friends of the deceased, although claimed to be present at the time when he was allegedly abducted by the appellants but they neither tried to resist the appellants nor sought for help from the member of the public to save his life, which shattered their credibility.

(b) No evidence was laid by the prosecution to show that it is the appellants who after allegedly abducting the deceased killed him and laid his dead body in the railway track.

(c) The doctor who held the post-mortem examination never stated anything as to the cause of death.

(d) The evidence of 'last seen' is a very weak piece of evidence and cannot be the basis of any conviction.

(e) The PW/12 and PW/13 both are chance witnesses therefore cannot be relied upon.