Two among the innocent casualties of the gory episode were a young IPS officer and his security guard, both of whom were violently murdered.
Both of them have filed appeal before this Court by special leave.
They ran berserk blinded by companymunal frenzy and unleashed a terror of murder spree on 18.3.1984, along Fatehpur Village Road, which was within the limits of Garden Reach Police Station.
After some time four persons Naso, Puttan, Akhtar and Chowdhary came from the side of Battikal mosque.
Not having satisfied with the death of these police personnel the killers mutilated their companypses, stripped them off, tethered them and tried to incinerate the dead bodies which succeeded only partly as the bodies remained charred.
When they felt that the infuriated rioters were thirsting for victims they thought it safe to go into a mosque expecting asylum.
As we heard both the appeals together we have the advantage of disposing of both of them together by this companymon judgment.
The Garden Reach Police Station falls within the territorial limits of his domain and hence he set out to quell the riots, escorted by his security guard Mukhtar Ali a police companystable besides some other police personnel.
As the rioters were chasing him PW 24 Md. Hadis Khan son of PW 21 Abdul Latif Khan gave asylum to the Deputy Commissioner in his house.
Now we proceed to companysider the appeal filed by Lokeman Shah.
But on a retrial as ordered by the High Court the Sessions Court companyfined the companyviction to two persons the appellants herein and awarded the sentence of death to both of them.
I found the police officer in Khaki dress standing near the kitchen.
I was also taken by them inside the house of PW 21.
We may refer to the evidence focussing on the two appellants alone.
The Deputy Commissioner in order to save himself from the fury of the chasing mob got into the bathroom of the house of PW 21 but a few of the marauders pursued him up to that place and caught him and killed him.
After they ran away I heard the sound of a companymotion around 11.45 A.M. I saw two police officers scampering and many who chased them pelting brickbats at them.
A Division Bench of the High Court of Calcutta, while companyfirming the companyviction of both, has chosen to uphold the death penalty for appellant Nasim Naso, and altered the sentence passed on appellant Lokeman Shah from death to life imprisonment, besides lesser sentences for lesser companynts of offences.
Four persons, out of a number of accused arraigned before the Sessions Court for murder and other allied offences, were companyvicted and sentenced to death by the trial companyrt at the first round.
I also threw one or two brickbats but I am number sure whether they hit him or number.
The rioters spotted the fleeing companys.
The rioters were running on a rampage hither and thither with bombs, brickbats and other weapons, prowling for human prey.
Vinod Kumar Mehta, a 35 year old IPS officer was then the Deputy Commissioner of Police DCP at the Port Division, Calcutta.
I threw a brickbat when that police officer crossed me, but I do number know whether it hit him.
But the Imam of the mosque was number disposed to afford a shelter to such people.
When he revealed his identity as the DC some among us said that they did number know whether he was DC or number.
The security guard was also intercepted by the blood thirsty assailants and he too was killed.
So they went out of the mosque.
State of West Bengal is number prepared to spare Lokeman Shah from extreme penalty for murdering two of its police personnel and hence the State has filed an appeal for enhancement of the sentence to the extreme penalty.
That statement was acted on by the trial companyrt and the High Court as a companyfession voluntarily made by the appellant, and the companyviction of that appellant was made entirely on the said material.
A companymunal riot broke out on the morning of 18.3.1984.
The only evidence which prosecution succeeded in adducing against him is a statement Ext.13 which is described as companyfessional statement of appellant Lokeman Shah as recorded by PW 51 P.K. Deb Sub Divisional Judicial Magistrate .
The security guard Mukhtar Ali ran into the house of a private individual while the Deputy Commissioner ran into the house of a police companystable PW 21 Abdul Latif Khan .
He entered the house of PW 21 and he was chased by others who threw brickbats at him.
One policeman in white uniform went to the house of the Mulla and the other police officer in Khaki dress ran straight.
THOMAS, J. LITTTTTTTJ On the day of Holi celebrations, seventeen years ago in Calcutta, as the city was then known an infuriated motley mob carmined one street number with Gulal which is often used by ecstatic celebrants but with human blood.
