Y. K. Sabharwal, J. - (1.)Subash Chandra Panda (A1), Kunja Ramana (A2), Narayan Mazumdar (A3) and Kalpana Mazumdar (A4), the appellants before us, are facing death penalty. The charge against them is of kidnapping and murder of a child Ranjeet Mohanty alias Rana, aged four years. They were charged for offences under Ss. 364, 302 and 201 read with S. 34, I.P.C.
(2.)The First Information Report was registered at the instance of Chitranajan Mohanty, P.W. 7. He reported that the four appellants and Simanchal Padhi had kidnapped his nephew on 30th April, 1997 and subsequently killed him. According to the FIR on 1st May, 1997 in the early morning while he had gone out to attend the call of nature he observed that a person was bringing something on his shoulders and he came towards the pond. The person was A3. P.W. 7 caught him and an alarm was raised. People gathered there. Some are named in the FIR. They found that A3 was carrying the dead body of the deceased and on being asked he said that he has not murdered the child alone but some other persons were also involved in the murder and he can identify them. He took all the persons to the house of A2 who finding A3 and others threatened to assault everyone and his field servants also came with lathi and tangi. At that time they came back but with the help of villagers they again went to the house of A 2 and then found that there is none in the house. In the prayer room of the house they found the nails of the dead child lying with the blood as also the hair of the child. A3 told them that in the room the nail, hair and the tongue of the child were cut and Simanchal Padhi offered prayers whereafter they took the child alive in the jeep of A2 to the house of A1 where the child was murdered by holding his leg and hand and throttling his neck. Simanchal Padhi, A1 and A2 told A3 that they will pay Rs. 25,000/- to throw the boy. When he was throwing the boy in the pond P.W. 7 caught him red handed. After hearing this they all went to the house of A1. There Simanchal Padhi "the tantrik" said that he had killed the boy and he can give life to him. He offered prayers near the body for three hours and told everybody to wait but he failed to give life to the boy and ran from the house. But he was caught with his associates and handed over to the police.
(3.)The four appellants were charged for the offences as aforesaid, the tantrik Simanchal Padhi having already died. It is on record that P.W. 7 was an accused in the case of murder of Simanchal Padhi though we do not know as to what was the result of that case.