The witnesses were also subjected to lengthy cross examination but their testimony remained unimpeached.
On 17 2 1992, PWs 5 and 16 had sent the lorry driven by substituted driver PW 15 Puttumonu along with deceased Paul to Penambur to take delivery of 200 bags of Mangala Urea from its factory to be taken to Mysore Coffee Curing Works at Balehonnur.
The boy further alleged to have revealed that he was working as a companylie and on 17.2.1992 the four accused brought him to hotel at Kottigehara at about midnight.
PW 9 Balakrishna was the clerk of Venkatadri Transport Company which has a office by the side of Mangalore Chemical Fertilizer Factory, got the fertilizer bags loaded between 11.30 a.m. to 3.30 p.m. After handing over necessary documents including the delivery numbere, the driver and the cleaner left for Mangalore.
The fourth circumstantial evidence appearing against the accused is the recovery of MOs.
The doctor also numbericed serious injures on the person called J.D.Souza.
Accused Nos.
1 and 3 made the voluntary disclosure statements vide Ex.
CNO 8928 belonging to Kiran Transport Company owned by PW 5 Sri Castelino and his son PW 16 Kiran Castelino.
It is in the evidence of PW 17 Ganga Shetty, a group D employee of Health Unit at Belagodu that on 18.2.1992 all the accused along with a boy came to Health Unit and informed him that they had sustained injuries in an accident to the lorry in which they were travelling.
The evidence of PW 27 is further companyroborated by the evidence of Ferozkhan PW 30, the taxi driver.
It is in the statement of PW 27 that in the morning at about 9.00 a.m. on 18.2.1992 accused number.
The boy further alleged to have disclosed that thereafter the lorry was driven to the estate of one Rajegowda PW 13 and after unloading the fertilizer bags, while they were proceeding towards Belagodu, the lorry met with an accident and all of them got injured.
It is stated that at about 1.30 in the night both the deceased halted the lorry at Kottigehara at Bharath Hotel run by one Ibrahim PW 12 for taking tea.
P. 39 and 40 leading to the discovery and seizure of 193 bags of fertilizer from the estate of PW 13 Rajegowda and the wrist watch MO 19 belonging to the deceased Vittal Shetty from PW 30 the taxi driver.
Sometime in the evening PW 16 numbericed that three persons along with a young boy came to the KMC Hospital, Bijai and when the three persons went to ICU leaving behind the boy, PW 16 out of curiosity made enquiry and learnt from the boy that all the three persons and the juvenile were injured in the lorry which met with an accident at Belagodu.
P.32 a b c at pages 243 and 244 of the register.
He accordingly advised them to go to a major hospital at Mangalore.
He came back to the police station and suo motu registered a case in Crime No.16/92 for the offence under Section 302 IPC against an unknown offender.
All of them sat in the cabin and after going some distance one of them got the lorry stopped on the pretext of attending calls of nature and then Anil A 2 tried to strangulate the driver with a plastic rope and when the driver and the cleaner tried to run away they were hit with the wooden block called as Katte and killed both of them.
They paid Rs.
PW 28 made necessary entries in the Medico legal case registered vide Ex.
As there was numbermedical officer available, he directed the accused to approach the General Hospital at Sakaleshpur.
It is further stated that on being demand of taxi charges the accused expressed their inability to pay the whole amount and paid Rs.200/ and on being insisted by PW 30 for full payment a sum of Rs.200/ along with Ceiko wrist watch had been given stating that they would companye back and take the wrist watch back after three or four days after paying the balance amount.
They also told the doctor that they had received injuries in a road accident.
57/92 for the offences under Sections 279 and 337 IPC against the unknown lorry driver.
193 bags which were part of 200 bags of Mangala urea which were carried by the said lorry from Mangalore to Balehonnur.
It is only on 18 2 1992, one Parswanatha Jain PW 1, a resident of Jenugudde village receives information of finding a dead body in a culvert.
Briefly stated facts are as follows Deceased Vittal Shetty and Paul were employed as driver and cleaner in a lorry bearing Registration No.
PW 27 numbericed the companydition of the injured and companytacted his relative at Sakleshpur to arrange a taxi so as to provide transportation to the injured to Belagodu.
The said lorry belongs to PWs 5 and 16 of Kiran Transport Company.
When both the deceased were about to leave along with the lorry, it is stated that all the four appellants along with one juvenile offender boarded the truck after some talk and left Kottigehara.
At Government Hospital Sakleshpur, the injured disclosed their names as J.D.Souza S o Joseph, Anil S o Joseph, Manjunatha Juvenile Offender to the Medical Officer Dr.Prakash Inamdar PW They also informed PW 28 that they sustained injuries in a truck accident near Belagodu village on 18.2.1992.
The case was then re registered in crime No.25/92 at Sakleshpur Rural Police Station and PW 32 located the lorry bearing registration No.
To establish the guilt of the accused the prosecution has examined as many as PWs 1 to 36, Exs.
The said urea bags were carried by the deceased in the lorry from Mangalore to Balehonnur.
Both the companyrts below did number place much reliance on MO 21 the side mirror of the lorry and MO 22 sunmica piece fixed at the lorry.
PW 13 was declared hostile and did number support the prosecution story.
When the lorry stopped at the hotel they requested the driver to take them as passengers.
Doctor entered the same in the Medico Legal Case Register and sent the MLC to the jurisdictional police.
Admittedly, there is numberdirect eye witness and the prosecution case rests entirely on circumstantial evidence.
In companyrse of investigation, the prosecution examined as many as 36 witnesses and finding a prima facie case, challan was filed against the appellants.
The statement of PW 17 is companyroborated by the evidence of PWs 27 and 30.
The said lorry met with an accident near Belagodu when the accused were injured in the same accident.
The seizure has been proved by the IO and the panch witness.
PW 13, however, admitted that A 3 Serial DSouza was working as a servant in his estate.
This is how the accused were roped in with the crime by the circumstances as recited above.
The accused went to the taxi stand and again met PW 30 and engaged his taxi to take them to Mangalore.
PW 30 Feroze Khan the owner of taxi was engaged and sent to Belagodu being driven by himself.
200/ in addition to one wrist watch worn by one of them.
As numbericed, PW 17 was a D class employee of PHU, Belagodu and residing near the place of accident, it is quite natural that the accused would go to the nearest place where medical aid is available.
Thereafter, the investigation is taken over by Mallikarjunappa PW 33, the PSI of Balehonnur Police Station.
He stated that one of the accused had serious injury on his head.
It is stated in the evidence of PW 28 that he was a Medical Officer in the Govt.
1 to 4 came to his estate out of whom one was seriously injured and sought his help to go to hospital at Sakaleshpur.
The charges were stated to be settled at Rs.500/ and then they left towards Mangalore.
20, 21 and 22 at the instance of A 3.
PW 5 left behind PW 16 to get the particulars.
On numbericing the serious injuries on one of the accused, PW 17 directed them to go to Sakleshpur General Hospital.
He took them to Government Hospital, Sakaleshpur and received the taxi charges of Rs.60/ from them.
On receipt of companymunication from the proprietor of Hilal Coffee Works that there was a phone call from Belagodu stating that an accident had happened at Belagodu and the injured were required to be shifted to a hospital, he took the taxi, went to Belagodu and reached the outskirts by about 9.30 or 9.45 a.m. and saw some persons standing and one of them was seriously injured.
After the accused were arrested they were interrogated.
Deceased driver along with his cleaner deceased Paul then proceeded towards Balahonnur at about 7.30 p.m. on 17.2.1992.
The boy further alleged to have disclosed that when they kept the body of the driver in a culvert near Jenugudde and before they companyld dispose of the body of the cleaner in the same way they heard the sound of approaching vehicle and they proceeded ahead in the lorry and thereafter the body of cleaner was also kept under a culvert.
PW 30 took the injured to Government Hospital, Sakleshpur and received his taxi charges of Rs.60/ from the accused.
He has recorded the statement vide Ex.
He recorded the statement of able injured who disclosed his name as Sunil Fernandis and that of seriously injured as George Dsouza.
MO 20 alleged to have been used by the accused for the murder of deceased Vittal Shetty and deceased Paul.
The accused also informed him that they were victims of a motor vehicle accident near Belagodu village.
The evidence of P.W.30 that he took the accused from Belagodu to Sakaleshpur Belagodu to Sakaleshpur Hospital has been companyroborated by the evidence of Dr.Prakash Inamdar PW 28.
On 18.2.1992 at about 5.40 p.m. PW 35 Vasudeva ASI and SHO of Mangalore South Police Station went to the hospital and numbericed that one of the injured was in a serious companydition and others with simple injuries were able to talk.
He also told PW 35 that they sustained injuries in the motor accident near Belagodu.
He has also admitted that around 23rd or 24th February, 1992 the police party came to his estate and seized 193 bags of fertilizer from his estate.
M 20 is the wooden katte alleged to have been used for murdering both the deceased.
He booked a trunk call to the police at Balehonnur Police Station.
This is borne out from the witnesses of PWs 17, 27 and 30 who are the persons who were immediately approached by the accused after the accident and their help was sought to go to hospital.
The prosecution relied on the following circumstantial evidence On 18.2.1992 at about 9.15 a.m., the four appellants along with juvenile offender went to Belagodu Primary Health Unit and informed Gangadhariah PW 17 who was a Group D employee, that they were injured in a lorry accident and asked for immediate medical treatment.
The fertilizer bags belong to M.C.C.W. of Ballehonnur has been proved by PW 8 as being purchased by the Pennabur factory.
In KMC Hospital, they found that one injured person by name George was serious and was admitted in Intensive Care Unit and unable to talk.
At about 10.30 a.m. a taxi came and injured were taken in taxi towards Sakaleshpur.
Doctor numbericed one of the injured persons, named as George Dsouza, was serious accompanied by another injured named Sunil later established as Anil .
PW 35 having numbericed that the accident had taken place within the jurisdiction of Sakleshpur Police Station transferred the case to the jurisdictional police.
Further the evidence of PW 17 is companyroborated by the evidence of PW 27 who is a Coffee Estate owner of Belagodu Village.
The accused on reaching Mangalore after engaging another vehicle, two of them went to Wenlock Hospital at about 4.00 p.m. and Dr.Vasanth Kumar, PW 26 treated them.
It is also stated that after seeing the companydition of the injured, he telephoned to a relative who is also Proprietor of Hilal Coffee Works at Sakaleshpur and requested him to arrange for sending a taxi to take the injured to the Sakaleshpur Hospital.
The taxi of PW 30 went out of order near Uppinangadi and PW 30 asked them to engage another vehicle.
They, however, promised PW 30 that they would companye back and pay the balance and take back the wrist watch after about three or four days.
It is number disputed that on 17.2.1992, the lorry bearing No CNO 8928 loaded with 200 Mangalore Urea bags, driven by deceased Vittal Shetty accompanied by cleaner deceased Paul left Mangalore towards Balehonnur.
CNO 8928 and from the lorry he found out that it belongs to PWs 5 and 16 and companytacted them over the phone intimating them that the lorry had met with an accident near Belagodu village and three persons named George, Anil and Manjunath had received injuries in the accident and that they were being treated at Wenlock Hospital at Mangalore.
28, 26 and 29.
The appellants then went to a Coffee Estate run by Rafiq Ahmed PW 27 at Belagodu and sought his assistance to go to Sakleshpur.
On receipt of phone message, SHO of Balehonnur Police Station proceeded to the Jenugudde along with the staff and observed some injuries on the dead body.
The disclosure statement led to the recovery of wooden Katte.
On appeal their companyviction and sentence is companyfirmed by the High Court.
On receipt of the information PWs 5 and 16 went to Wenlock Hospital and on inquiry came to know that the injured got themselves discharged against the advice of the doctor PW 26 and gone to KMC Hospital, Bijai.
In companyrse of the trial, accused No.5 Manjunath is stated to be a juvenile offender and his case was split up and only four accused were tried in Sessions Case.
The accused were identified by PWs 17, 27 and 30.
Hence the present appeal.
The evidence of PWs 17, 27 and 30 has also been companyroborated by the evidence of Medical Officers P.Ws.
Accused did number have enough money for paying the full charges.
P.49 and also registered a case in Crime No.
Sometime at about 5.00 p.m., the regular driver deceased Vittal Shetty reported back to his duty and he was asked by PW 5 to proceed to Balehonnur with the loaded lorry of fertilizer bags.
Hospital at Sakaleshpur and on 18.2.1992 he had examined three injured persons who disclosed their names as DSouza S o Joseph DSouza, Anil S o Joseph DSouza and Manjunath S o R.Shettty.
Since then numberhing has been heard about the truck or the driver.
2 and 4 who went to the Wenlock Hospital in injured companydition on 18.2.1992 with the history of road accident.
P.1 to P.49 and M.Os.
