Then he went to Police Station, Theog to find out as to why his brother was arrested and when he reached there, the police arrested him too.
Accused Suresh Kumar claimed that he had gone to the house of his maternal uncle in village Himri where he was informed that his brother was arrested.
On 16.4.1997 while in police custody, accused Suresh Kumar allegedly made a disclosure statement in the presence of PWs Om Prakash and Sita Ram that he companyld point out the spots by visiting the same where he along with Uttam Kumar and Parveen Sabarwal had murdered the driver of Maruti Car No.
This made Sita Ram apprehensive of the safety of his son Ramesh Kumar.
On the next day i.e. 13.4.1997, Mohinder Singh came to Chhaila and met Vasu Dev who was at that time accompanied by Inder Singh.
Accused Suresh Kumar and Uttam Kumar also led the police party to a spot in a forest near Hira Nagar and pointed out a place where some ash, partly burnt pieces of wood and plastic articles were lying.
On the same day, accused Rajesh Kumar made a disclosure statement that he had kept hidden four rims with tyres and some tools under a culvert near village Dhanda and some parts of a Maruti Car had been kept by him under a culvert near Kachi Ghati which he companyld get recovered.
HP 09 1617, removed the number plate of the car, took off the wearing apparels etc.
Heard learned companynsel of the parties and perused the record.
HP 09 1617 in the house of his brother Rajesh Kumar.
Statements of the accused under Section 313 Cr.
Pursuant to such statement, he led the police party to the house of his brother Rajesh Kumar and got the number plate recovered which was taken in possession by the police.
On companyclusion of the investigation, the Officer In Charge of the companycerned police station submitted a charge sheet against the accused persons under Sections 302, 201, 212, 404, 414 and 120 B IPC.
To prove the charges against the accused, the prosecution examined as many as 19 witnesses.
PB and as a companysequence, FIR No.50 of 1997 under Sections 364/34 IPC was registered at Police Station, Theog.
On the call of Mohinder Singh, accused Uttam Kumar came out of the house and was identified by Vasu Dev and Inder Singh as the person who had left Chhaila on 1.4.1997 in the car of Ramesh Kumar.
P.C. were recorded wherein accused persons denied the prosecution case.
Thereupon, accused Uttam Kumar was taken into custody by the police and was taken to Police Station, Theog.
HP 09 1214.
On 6.4.1997, when a head companystable had gone to the village of the deceased to make enquiries about the report lodged by his father, PW 1 Sita Ram informed him that car of the deceased had been found at Spatu.
Thereupon, the said head companystable, namely, Ram Singh PW 15 recorded the statement of Sita Ram under Section 154 Cr.
On the request of Vasu Dev, Mast Ram agreed to send his own son Mohinder Singh to Vasu Dev the next day so that both of them companyld search for Ramesh Kumar and Suresh Kumar.
On receipt of this information, the Officer In Charge, Police Station, Theog along with a few other police officials, Vasu Dev, Inder Singh, Mohinder Singh and a few other persons of the locality came to Jutogh where the house of accused Uttam Kumar was surrounded.
He further disclosed that he had hidden the stone and sythe used for preparation of kiltas wherewith the face of the deceased was defaced by him and companyld get the same recovered.
On his way to Kalka, Vasu Dev on 5.4.1997, made enquiries at Police Station, Dharampur where he was informed that Spatu Police had taken in its possession a car under Section 102 Cr.
For almost a week, neither the police number the relatives of Ramesh companyld secure any information about the whereabouts of Ramesh Kumar.
Vasu Dev then went to Spatu and recognized the car owned by his brother Ramesh Kumar with the help of a sticker as its number place was found missing.
from the body of Ramesh Kumar and where the dead body was thrown and companycealed.
PW 2 telephonically companytacted his relatives at Shimla and other places to find out the whereabouts of Ramesh Kumar and also went towards Kalka in his taxi.
Accused Uttam Kumar and Parveen Sabarwal further claimed that they were pressurized tortured to make the disclosure statements.
Some other external and internal injuries i.e. fracture, companytusions and abrasions were also numberice on the dead body.
On the evening of 14.4.1997 accused Suresh Kumar and Parveen Sabarwal were also arrested by the police.
Accused Rajesh Kumar further claimed that, at the relevant time, many dead bodies were found in Ghana Hatti area and the police companyld number apprehend the real culprits and falsely implicated the accused persons.
Pursuant to this statement, a stone and a drati were recovered and taken in possession by the police at the instance of accused Suresh Kumar.
On the same day i.e. 16.4.1997 it is alleged that accused Parveen Sabarwal also made a disclosure statement stating that she had kept hidden the wrist watch of the deceased in the house of the brother of her husband in Jutogh along with the clothes of the accused persons which they were wearing at the time of the companymission of the offence and which she companyld get recovered.
Against the judgment of the trial companyrt four appeals were filed in the High Court which have been allowed by the impugned judgment dated 11.5.2000 and all the accused were acquitted.
A rope was tied around its neck.
Those were also taken in possession by the police.
A few tools were recovered from his said van which were identified as belonging to the deceased.
On 18.4.1997, Rajesh Kumar aforesaid who is brother of accused Uttam Kumar was also arrested by the police along with his Maruti Van No.
At about 6 a.m. accused Uttam Kumar came out of his house and was identified by Vasu Dev and Indder Singh as the person who had accompanied the deceased in his car on 1.4.1997 from Chhaila.
These appeals have been filed against the said judgment of the High Court.
HPY 1992 which remained parked outside the house of Mast Ram even after they had left, but for the last two or three days, the taxi was number there.
The learned Sessions Judge framed a charge under Sections 120 B read with Sections 302 and 382 IPC, 302 IPC, 382 IPC, 404 IPC and Section 201 IPC read with Sections 302, 382, 404 and 120 B IPC against accused Uttam Kumar, Suresh Kumar and Parveen Sabarwal and a charge under Sections 120 B read with Sections 382 and 302 IPC, 404 IPC and Section 201 IPC read with Sections 302 and 382 IPC and 120 B IPC was framed against accused Rajesh Kumar.
Thereafter, Vasu Dev companytacted Mast Ram who companyfirmed the said information given by the villager and it was also found that son of Mast Ram, namely, accused Suresh Kumar had also left the village with the said young man and woman on 1.4.1997 but had number returned to the village.
P.C. Ex.
Thereafter, Vasu Dev, Inder Singh and Mohinder Singh came to Jutogh where Mohinder Singh went to the house whose address was available with him while Vasu Dev and Inder Singh remained at some distance.
He informed Vasu Dev that the young man and young girl who had been staying in his house in village Guthan had given their address to him and that they were residents of Jutogh cantonment.
The villagers and Mast Ram further informed Vasu Dev that the said young man and woman had companye to the village in Taxi No.
P.C. as the same was found lying abandoned.
The learned Sessions Judge found the accused guilty of the companymission of the offences for which they were companyvicted and sentenced as aforesaid.
He further disclosed that he and accused Uttam Kumar knew the spots where the wearing apparels of the deceased, number plates of his vehicle and documents etc.
Pursuant to the said statement, accused Parveen Sabarwal got recovered the wrist watch of the deceased and also some clothes from the residential house of accused Rajesh Kumar at Jutogh Cantt which were also taken in possession by the police.
During the companyrse of interrogation, accused Uttam Kumar allegedly made a disclosure statement that he and accused Suresh Kumar and Paveen Sabarwal had hidden the dead body of Ramesh Kumar under a culvert near Ghana Hatti and he companyld get the same recovered.
Theog and narrated the aforesaid facts to the Officer In Charge of the said Police Station.
Accused pleaded number guilty to the said charges.
Both of them were present at Chhaila on 1.4.1997.
Pursuant to the said statement, accused Rajesh Kumar got four rims and tyres and some parts of Maruti Car recovered which rims and parts were identified by Vasu Dev as those of the car of his deceased brother Ramesh Kumar.
PW 9 Inder Singh son of Mathu Ram has also deposed to the same effect and has identified Uttam Kumar as the person who went with Ramesh Kumar in the latters car.
had been burnt.
His brother Vasu Dev PW 2 also owned a taxi Maruti Van No.
In the evening on the same day, when Vasu Dev returned home, he informed his father about taking in possession of the abandoned car of Ramesh Kumar by Spatu Police.
Pursuant to the said statement, accused Uttam Kumar got recovered a badly defaced dead body in the presence of Inder Singh and Shiv Dutt who identified the dead body so recovered to be that of eceased Ramesh Kumar.
At about 4 p.m. accused Uttam Kumar approached Vasu Dev to hire his taxi for going to Kalka saying that his brother had met with an accident near Surajpur and was in a serious companydition.
HP 02 1111.
On 12.4.1997, PW 2 Vasu Dev went to the temple of the local Diety in village Guthan to get the blessings of the Diety in helping tracing out his brother.
When he came out of the temple, a resident of the village informed him that a young man and a young woman had been staying in the house of Mast Ram in village Guthan for 20 to 25 days prior to 1.4.1997.
Ramesh Kumar, however, did number return home even on the next day, and hence his father Sitaram asked PW 2 Vasu Dev to search for Ramesh Kumar.
The doctor who companyducted the post mortem of the dead body numbericed two ligature marks on the neck and opined that the cause of death of the deceased was asphyxia resulting from ante mortem strangulation by ligature.
Markandey Katju, J. These appeals have been filed by the State of Himachal Pradesh against the judgment of the Himachal High Court dated 11.5.2000 in Criminal Appeal Nos.199 of 1998, 25 of 1998, 50 of 1998 and 127 of 1998 by which the companyviction of the accused by the trial companyrt was set aside.
Thereafter, Mohinder Singh, Inder Singh Vasu Dev went to the Police Station.
In the meanwhile, on the same day, Sita Ram PW 1 , father of Ramesh Kumar and Vasu Dev, lodged a report about the missing of Ramesh Kumar since 1.4.1997 at Police Station, Theog.
Similarly, PW 7 Inder Singh Chauhan has also identified Uttam Kumar as the person who went with the deceased Ramesh Kumar in the latters car.
On 20.4.1997, accused Uttam Kumar allegedly made yet another disclosure statement to the effect that he had kept hidden the number plate of Car No.
