R. S. VERMA, J. - (1.) THANKS to an incompetent investigation, equally unfair, that brutal murder of a helpless lady is going unpunished.
(2.) APPELLANT Kalu Lal was convicted of an offence u/s 302/ IPC by the learned Sessions Judge, Udaipur. and was sentenced to undergo imprisonment for life and to pay a fine of Rs. 100/-, vide judgment dated 19-3-83. Briefly stated, the prosecution story is; that on May 7, 1982. Smt. Raj Kanwar, r/o Jawad, left Jawad in company of the accused appeilant-Kalu Lal by bus. She was seen off by PW 9 Shankar Singh and PW 11 Keshar Singh. Originally Shankar Singh was to proceed with Raj Kanwar to Udaipur but at Jawad bus-stand the accused-appellant met Rajkanwar and Shankar Singh and told them that he was going to Udaipur and hence Shankar Singh need not accompany Rajkanwar. Upon this, Shankar Singh did not proceed for Udaipur and got down from the bus. It is alleged that Rajkanwar and the accused-appellant went to Udaipur where a prescription for Rajkanwar was obtained from a hospital on 8-5-82. It appears that at Udaipur, the accused-appellant stayed at Jain Dhararnshala, most probably accompanied with Raj Kaawar. Some medicine was also purchased at Udaipur on 8-5-82, in the name of Rajkanwar from one Vijay Medical Store. The prosecution story, further, is that the accused-appellant, along with Rajkanwar, proceeded to Kesari-yaji and they stayed in Dhararnshala, Incharge whereof was one Pradeep Singh PW 1. According to the prosecution story, the accused-appellant and Raj Kanwar stayed in Room No. 46 of the Dhararnshala, though no entry was got made in their names in the register of the Dhararnshala. The prosecution story is that PW 5, Dalla had seen the appellant and the deceased staying in Room No. 46 of this Dhararnshala whereof this Dalla was the Choukidar. PW 7 Vardhichand happened to stay in Room No. 44 of this Dhararnshala from 6-5-82 to 10-5-82. The prosecution story is that on 8-5-82 at about 4. 00 P. M. Vardhichand spotted the appellant sitting in the verandah of Room No. 46, while this witness was sitting in the verandah of Room No. 44.- According to the prosecution story, the appellant Kalulal went to Vardhichand and introduced himself as Ramchandra Gaur. He enquired about a hospital and a medical shop, on the ground that the lady with him "maji" was having some trouble. Vardhichand gave the address of the hospital and also of the medical shop. Thereafter the accused-appellant went away and returned after 15-20 minutes. Thereafter Vardhichand went away and returned the same day at about 7 or 8 in the evening. Thereafter he did not see the appellant. He saw the door of Room No. 46 locked in the morning of 9th May 1982. On 10th May 1982 he went away to the temple at about 7. 00 A. M. and returned only at about 2. 00 P. M. The case of the prosecution, further, is that in the meanwhile, on 10-5-82, at about 7. 30 A. M. PW 1 Pradeep Singh, along with Chokidar Dalla, went to take a round of Dhararnshala. When he reached room No. 46, he saw blood coming out of the room. There was thin stream of blood 6-7 ft in length and 2-1/2"-3" in width, flowing in the verandah. He found that the room was locked from outside. This aroused suspicision and he peeped into the room from a slik in the door-panels. He vaguely spotted some figure lying in the room. He, thereupon, enquired from Dalla, upon which Dalla told him that somebody had been staying in the room for two-three days. However, Dalla could not satisfy as to who was staying in the room. Upon this, Pradeep Singh checked from the Dhararnshala register and found out that some passengers from Indore, had come and stayed in Room No. 46 but they had vacated the same on 8th of May, 1982, and thereafter, this room had not been booked in any other name. Upon this, he wrote out a report addressed to the Officer Incharge of the temple Shri Jagjeewanlal Bhandari. This report was forwarded to the S. H. O. , Police Station, Rishabhdeo. He submitted this report before Shri Mohanlal PW 14. Upon this, Mohanlal drew a formal FIR Ex. P/12. Mohanlal himself proceeded to this Dhararnshala. He got opened the lock of the room. He found that blood was flowing in the verandah from the room and in the room a woman was lying in a dead condition. Mohanlal procured the services of a photographer and obtained certain photographs Ex. P/17 to Ex. P/23. He found that the lady did not have any ornaments on her body except some plastic bangles. He arrived at a conclusion that somebody had killed the lady with a view to obtain her prnaments and had thereafter locked the room. Mohanlal, thereafter, prepared Panchayatnama Ex. P/4. He also prepared site-plan Ex. P/3. Thereafter, he got the dead body examined by Dr. BL. Malvi,pw10. Dr. B L. Malvi conducted the post-mortem examination of the lady the same day and prepared the report Ex. P/16- According to him, the dead body was decomposed and there was discoloration of skin at several places. Face was swollen, and cynosed with petechial haemorrhages. The lips were blue and fluid was coming out of mouth and nostrils. The tongue was swollen and was protruding out and was dark in colour and bruised with teeth (bite ). The fingers and palm of both the hands of the deceased were clenched. On the back of the dead body he-found a bruise on the right side measuring 5"x3" extending from below the scapula and going upto the midaxillary line. He could not detect any well defined mark of ligature on the neck, but he found that there was irregular patchy area of congestion in the sub-cutaneous tissue extending on the anterior and lateral surfaces of the neck. There was extravagation of blood in the subcutaneous tissue and muscles of the anterior and lateral aspect of neck. Muscles were ruptured at places. There was evulsion of cuticle at various places. He further found an irregular linear wound sized 1/4" x communicating with tracheal lumen on the upper anterior surface of trachen. Blood was present in the vicinity of the wound. Lary and trachea was congested with fine frothy mucous.
(3.) IN the opinion of the Dr. the lady had died due to asphysia as a result of strangulation. The prosecution story is that Shankar Singh and Kesar Singh met Mohanlal on May 14, 1982 at about 7. 00 p. m. and informed him that their aunt Rajkanwar, w/o Gulab Singh had left with accused Kalulal, for Udaipur on 7-5-82 and she had not returned. They further told him that they had learnt that dead body of an unknown woman had been found out. At this, Mohanlal showed photographs Ex. P/17 to Ex. P/23 to them and also showed the clothes of the deceased to these persons. Both of them identified the photographs and the clothes to be of their aunt Rajkanwar. It was thereafter that Mohanlal arrested accused-appellant Kalulal on 16-5-82, vide Ex. P/8. It is alleged that at the time of arrest of the accused-appellant, one bill of Vijay Medical Store, dated 8-5-82, one receipt of Jain Dharamshala, Udaipur, No. 10050 and one prescription of Rajkanwar dated 8-5 82 was recovered from the possession of the accused-appellant. These documents were taken into possession vide Ex. P. 9. The prdsecution story further is that the accused-appellant volunteered information to him in respect of ornaments belonging to the deceased lady, This information was recorded in Ex. P/31. In pursuance of the aforesaid information and at the instance of the accused-appellant, certain ornaments, article 6 to 20, were recovered from the house of the accused-appellant. The ornaments were found tied in a piece of cloth, article 21. These ornaments were duly sealed and a memo Ex. P/11 was prepared in this respect. These ornaments were eventually sent with one Ranjit Singh, in a sealed condition to PW 6 Sunderlal, Sarpanch of Rishabhdeo Grampanchayat. Shri Sunderlal conducted identification proceedings, at which Kesar Singh and Shankar Singh, identified the ornaments as belonging to Smt. Rajkanwar. Sunderlal prepared the memo Ex. P/13 in respect of this proceeding. ;