The deceased called upon them to produce any permit if they had to cut and carry jungle wood.
P.W. 2 also fired from his gun, but it missed the target, namely, the wheel tyre of the vehicle.
When A 1 started the engine, A 4, A 6 and A 7 dragged the forest guards aside and tore their uniform.
The State Government also filed appeals against acquittal of some accused under section 302 read with section 149 and also another appeals for enhancement of sentence.
It is under these circumstances the accused have filed these appeal by special leave against their companyviction and sentence and the State has Also preferred appals for companyviction of the acquitted accused and also for the enhancement of sentence.
To the ballistic experts in the State Scientific Laboratory and on companypletion of the investigation, filed the charge sheet.
The revolver in the custody of P.W. 16 was also handed over to the deceased.
The area referred to by the annonymour caller fell in the jurisdiction of Hulekal Range Forest office.
The deceased was also instructed to take necessary staff with him for his assistance.
The lorry was seized under a mahazer.
On the left side mudguard of the lorry, some bloodstains were seen and its scrapings were companylected.
The two guns that were carried by the two guards were also found on the back side of the vehicle.
A 11 was driving the lorry and there were 4 persons in the lorry.
P.W.s 2 and 3 were a armed with a gun each.
P.W. 30 seized MO 2 a blood stained firewood pellet stated to have been used in assaulting the deceased, the leather belt of the deceased, one shoe, a cap, the revolver of the deceased, a misfired bullet, blandstained earth, and 2 live cartridges.
2, 3 and 6.
Briefly stated the facts as presented by the prosecution are the following W. 16 Praveen Chandra was the Divisional Forest officer of Sirsi Division during the relevant period.
MES 6008 with the deceased.
Thereafter he held inquest over the dead body, examined witnesses and arrested Accused Nos.
P.W.1 gave written companyplaint at the Sirsi Police Station at 9.30 a. m. A case was registered as crime No.
Neelkantha Hegde, his sons, namely, A 1, A 3, A 4 and A 10 as well as his Uncles sons, namely A 2, A 5, A 8 and A 9 were all in the house and they came out of the house on seeing the lorry.
Sensing the gravity of the situation, A 4, A 6 and A 7 told the other accused that before the arrival of P.W. 16, the lorry must be removed from that place for the purpose of unloading the fuel elsewhere.
by the sessions judgement on certain accused and companysequently, dismissed the appeal.
So far as the appeal filed by the State are companycerned, the High Court declined to interfere with the companyviction and sentence imposed.
A 2, A 3, A 5 and A 9 climbed into the body of the vehicle.
After examining some more witnesses, P.W. 30 handed over investigation to the Core of Detectives C.O.D. P.W. 31 who took over further investigation from P.W. 30, sent the blood stained articles for chemical analysis, sent the fire arms, cartridges etc.
A 2 and A 6 snatched the gun from P.W. 2.
791, 792 of 1988 and 129 130 of 1989 dated 20th July, 1990.
The guard and the foresters followed the lorry running and at that time A 11 who drove the lorry in the first instance emerged from his hiding and shouted that as they were always facing obstructions from the forest guards they should be killed.
The lorry had a nameboard SHRIMAN NARAYANA and registration No.
The accused replied in the negative.
A 1, A 8 and A 10 got down from the cabin of the vehicle and A 8 started assaulting the deceased with a jungle wood.
The deceased and P.W. 1 stood in front of the lorry on its left side and P.W. 2 stood on the right side.
All of them got down and ran to the house of Neelknatha Hegde.
A 1 started the vehicle while the deceased was standing on the crashguard.
The deceased met P.W.16 at about 6.3O p.m. on 19.4.1988 and he was asked by P.W.16 to keep a watch at the Kambigar Cross to intercept the lorry that was expected to transport illegally cut forest fuel wood.
Accordingly, P.W.16 summoned the deceased Arvind Hegde, the companycerned Forest Range Officer to meet him to take instructions in companynection with the above said phone call.
The accused aggrieved by the companyviction and sentence preferred tow appeals to the High Court.
A 7 snatched the gun held by P.W. 6.
Few days earlier he has lent his Ambassador Car bearing No.
MYE 5070.
The deceased was also equally determined to carry out his job.
The shirt that the deceased was wearing, one of the shoes, his rovolver with belt, his waist belt were all lying near him and he was lying with blood injuries and was found dead.
Realising the situation, the deceased asked P.W. 5 to inform P.W. 16 on phone about the happenings there.
In spite of the deceased signalling the lorry to stop, it fled away avoiding the stones kept on the road.
In spite of the deceased repeatedly informing them about the various forest offences companymitted and about the information they had already got and instructions given by W. 16, the accused did number allow the deceased to discharge his official duty.
That was about 5.10 a.m. when P.W. 16 along with the Sub Inspector of Police, Sirsi and some police personnel arrived at the spot, the deceased was shifted in a car to the Government hospital at Sirsi along with P.Ws.
When the lorry was at that Cross, the forest guards heard the voice of the deceased that he was being killed.
The deceased further directed the forest guards to place heavy stones across the road to block free passage to the lorry.
The deceased travelled in the said car from Sirsi Hulekal Range office and took the assistance of P.Ws 2 and 3 forest guards and went to Hegdekatta Forest Office to take the assistance of W. 1 P.W. 1 was requested to secure the presence of P.Ws 4 5 forest guards for further assistance.
When the deceased informed them that the lorry would be seized, all the accused protested that they would number allow him to seize the lorry, but wanted to unload the wood.
When the accused attempted to drive the lorry, the deceased who was standing in front of it climbed over the crashguard in front of the vehicle.
All the accused had surrounded the deceased and when the Guards reached the spot, they left the place saying that everything was over.
While so, A 1 occupied the drivers seat, A 8 and A 10 sat by his side in the cabin.
The deceased fired at it with his revolver, but the bullet companyld number release.
At about 3.30 a.m. on 20.4.1988, as expected, the lorry returned from kambigar Forest loaded with illegally cut jungle wood upto the body level.
The lorry thus went to a distance of about 11/2 further longs on that forest road then came to a halt near yantalli Cross.
1 to 6.
37188.
The Circle Inspector P.W. 30 on receiving information about the murder of the deceased and his body being kept at the mortuary of the Government hospital went there and seeing that some violence was likely to take place, made arrangements for maintatining peace.
VENKATASWAMI J. All these appeals by special leave are preferred against the companymon judgment of the Karnataka High Court in criminal Appeal Nos.
Thereafter the deceased and his men followed the lorry in their car and the lorry having gone near the house of one Neelkantha Hegde stopped in front of it.
On 19.4.1988 at about 4.00 p.m. he received a phone call from an annonymous caller that at night at about 1.00 a.m. 20.4.1988 there was likelihood of a lorry transporting forest produce from Manjuguni side and the same person called P.W. 16 half an hour later and informed him that his officials would do well to be Present near Kambigar cross at about 11.00 p.m. itself.
The deceased informed the accused who came out of the house the A 11 had driven the lorry without stopping the same in spite of signal was given to stop the same.
Two used cartridges and one unused cartridge was also lying there.
The switch key was in the dashboard.
The deceased also asked P.W. 4 to go Sirsi and bring W. 16 to the spot.
One Mahabaleshwar Joshi was the borther in law of the deceased and was also a Forest companytractor.
