VISHNUDEO NARAYAN, J. - (1.) This appeal has been directed by the appellants named above against the impugned judgment dated 20/09/1999 passed in Sessions Trial No. 8 of 1997 by Sri S. H. Kazmi, 3rd Additional Sessions Judge, Jamshedpur, East Singhbhum whereby and whereunder all the appellants aforesaid were found guilty under Sections 302/34 and 201/34, I.P.C. for committing the murder of Prasanna Kumar Bera, the uncle of P.W. 2, Dinesh Chandra Bera, the informant and also causing the evidence of the said offence to disappear with intention to screen themselves from legal punishment and they were convicted and sentenced to undergo R. I. for life for the offence under Section 302/34 I.P.C. but no separate sentence for the offence under Section 201/34 I.P.C. was imposed against them.
(2.) The prosecution case has arisen on the basis of the Fard beyan (Ext. 1) of P.W. 2, Dinesh Chandra Bera, the informant recorded by P.W. 8, ASI, Lalit Lakra of Gurabanda P.S., Ghatshila on 22-4-1996 at 8.20 hours in village Munda, P. S. Gurabanda regarding the occurrence which is said to have taken place on that very day at 6.00 hours at the pond situate in village Munda aforesaid. The formal F.I.R. (Ext. 2) was drawn instituting the case on the basis of the Fardbeyan on 22-4-1996 at 16.00 hours and the FI.R. and the Fardbeyan were sent to the Court empowered to take cognizance by special messenger which was received in the said Court on 24-4-1996.
(3.) The prosecution case, in brief is that Prasanna Kumar Bera, the deceased of this case, and the uncle of P.W. 2, the informant, had gone to the pond in his village Munda at about 6.00 O'clock in the morning on 22-4-1996 for attending the call of nature and in that course he was on the bank of the said pond. It is alleged that appellant Mochiram Bera armed with spade, appellants Satyanarayan Bera and Jai Hari Bera each armed with Tangi (axe) came there from the nearby bush and started assaulting Prasanna Kumar Bera aforesaid by means of their respective weapons causing the death of the deceased there and thereafter appellant Jai Hari Bera was severing the neck of the deceased from his trunk. P.W. 5, Sitaram Bera, who was coming to the said pond, saw the occurrences and raised alarms and P.W. 4, Chharu Ram Soren and P.W. 1, Sampat Bera alias Shyampad Bera came there running and saw the appellant Jai Hari Bera along with two other appellants fleeing away from the said place of occurrence with the head of the deceased after severing it. The prosecution case further is that Anil Kumar Bera, Somendra Barik and Shiv Shankar Basuri, Mukhiya of Gram Panchayat, Koena had conspired for the commission of the murder of the deceased after making a plan for that with the appellants in the previous night. It is also alleged that the commission of the murder of the deceased is due to the old existing enmity. The severed head of Prasanna Kumar Bera, the deceased of this case, was recovered in the course of investigation on 24-4-1996 from a pond of Village Angarpara and the said served head was wrapped in a Gamchcha and a seizure list (Ext. 6) in respect thereof was prepared and the said severed head was also sent for post mortem examination.;