Arun Kumar Bhattacharya, J. - (1.) The hearing stems from an appeal preferred against the judgement and order of conviction and sentence passed by the Id. Judge, Special Court (E.G. Act) and Additional Sessions Judge, 24 Pgs.(S), Alipore in S.C. Case No. 6(12) 96 [S.T. No. 6(1) 97] on 22.12.1997.
(2.) The miniaturized version of the prosecution is that on 01.08.1996 at about 23.40 hrs. when the de facto complainant Shyam Prasad Mehta after fetching drinking water in a jug reached near their grocery shop in the name and style of "Probhat Stores" at 7/1, Bompass Road, Calcutta-29, a white coloured Ambassador car came and stopped there. The driver and one person remained inside the car. Out of six persons - two wearing pants and the rest wearing lungis - who came in front of the counter of their shop, one remained outside while five of them entered inside the counter. On their demand for the keys of cash box his father Gulab Mehta and elder brother Mukesh expressed their ignorance of the same, for which one of them assaulted his elder brother with the butt of a firearm on his face. He rushed inside, raised an alarm like his elder brother and pushed two of them. The miscreants came outside the counter and one of them armed with a firearm suddenly fired a shot towards his father resulting in bleeding injury on his chest followed by their rushing towards their car and boarding it. At the time of departure, one of the miscreants armed with a sharp-cutting weapon struck his father on his person. He noted down the number of the said car WB-02B-6942 on a cigarette packet. When his father was about to fall he held and brought him outside the shop. His neighbour Prasad Sen @ Pritamda and his wife took his father, elder brother and uncle Mohan to Sishu Mangal Hospital. His father succumbed to injuries at the said Hospital on 04.08.1996. Accused Sk. Akbar Ali, Sandip Arora @ Raju, Nuruddin Molla @ Noor Alam, Md. Afzal @ Sarju and Md. Rafique @ Chachu were identified at the TI parade. Hence, all the above five accused persons were charged under sections 302/34, 307/34 & 398 IPC.
(3.) During trial accused Rafique escaped from police custody, for which WA/PA is pending against him.;