PW 17 used to peg the bag companytaining gold and silver jewellery of the shop.
He also stated that he saw the appellant and Jora Ram entering the house of Shiv Pratap.
Appellant, Shri Bhagwan also gave a statement to the effect that while he was travelling in a bus, he had thrown away the shirt worn by him at the time of occurrence, near a place three kilometers away from Sujangarh.
He found his parents lying dead with multiple injuries.
On reaching the house, they found the outer door of the house open and the inside room was found bolted from within.
During the companyrse of further investigation, the appellant gave a statement regarding the place of companycealment of golden jewellery and other articles taken away from the house of Shiv Pratap.
Shocked at the incident, they made a hue and cry.
This shirt was blood stained and it bore the label of 786 J.K. Tailors, Subzi Mandi, S.R.D.R. On the shirt, number 427 was found marked.
It may be numbered that PW 17 must have been under severe psychic trauma at the time of giving the Exh.
Various blood stained articles were found strewn in the room.
Manak Chand was examined and he deposed that this invitation had been sent by him to Shiv Pratap on the occasion of the marriage of his daughter which was on 10th December, 1993.
From the house of Ramu Ram, a small tobacco box was recovered which companytained 12 companyper pieces and an envelope of Kumkum Patri addressed to Shiv Pratap, Bidasar, and the senders name was one Manak Chand Soni PW 10 .
That room was found locked from outside.
The appellant led the police party to that place and the said shirt was recovered from the bushes near the place where the appellant had stated to have thrown the same.
Appellants brother in law Bahnoi Ramu Ram was a resident of Sardar Shahar.
That bag was also found missing.
PW 18 stated that he had stitched the shirt for the appellant and he had also recorded the name of the appellant and the measurements in the register.
PW 17 and his wife then went to the room of their daughters.
In order to purchase some articles for the marriage, Shiv Pratap and his wife Bhanwari had left for Jaipur on 14th December, 1993.
The articles were recovered from the close relative of the appellant and they were identified by PW 17.
All these articles were later identified by Shiv Pratap as gold ornaments belonging to his mother and daughters.
These articles included one gold finger ring, gold ear tops and numbere tops, white pearls, etc.
The marriage of the eldest daughter of Shiv Pratap was fixed to be held on 20.2.1994.
A broken iron Kunta, a wooden Pestle and an iron scissors were also recovered from the scene of occurrence and all these articles were stained with blood.
In his statement, PW 2, Murlidhar mentioned that on the evening of 14th December, 1993, he had seen the deceased Jora Ram, the father of Shiv Pratap, at about 6.00 PM going to his house after closing the shop and the appellant, Shri Bhagwan was also accompanying him.
The brother of PW 17 who was staying nearby came to the house.
PW 2 further stated that Shri Bhagwan was known to him previously as he had worked in the shop of Shiv Pratap for about 8 to 10 months.
They came back to Bidasar from Jaipur on 17th December, 1993 at about 9.30 PM.
Based on this information, appellant Shri Bhagwan was arrested on the night of 18th December, 1993 and the investigation of the case was taken over by PW 24 .
In the instant case, the appellant companyld number give an explanation as to how he came into possession of various gold ornaments and other articles belonging to Shiv Pratap and the members of his family.
He recorded the statement of Bhanwari PW 1 Murlidhar PW 2 and also the further statement of Shiv Pratap PW 17 .
By about 9.45 P.M., PW 17 gave the P 8 statement before the Station House Officer of Police Station Chhapar PW 23 .
For the offences under Section 392 and 397 IPC, he was sentenced to undergo R.I. for seven years and to pay a fine of Rs.200/ .
PW 17 knocked at the door in vain and after sometime he scaled over the wall and gained entry into the room.
As regards the question of sentence, the companynsel for the appellant submitted that the appellant was a youngster aged 20 at the time of crime and ever since the imposition of death penalty on him he has been under devastating and degrading fear that is imposed on the companydemned and that appellant must have been under intense mental suffering that is inevitably associated with companyfinement under sentence of death.
This companyrt, relying on an earlier decision reported in Gulab Chand vs. State of M.P. 1995 3 SCC 574, observed If in a given case as the present one the prosecution can successfully prove that the offences of robbery and murder were companymitted in one and the same transaction and soon thereafter the stolen properties were recovered, a companyrt may legitimately draw a presumption number only of the fact that the person in whose possession the stolen articles were found companymitted the robbery but also that he companymitted the murder.
Pursuant to the statement made by one of the accused, gold and silver ornaments and other articles were recovered.
Many of these articles were found blood stained.
The appellant also companyld number give any reasonable explanation how he sustained injuries on his body and how his shirt became blood stained.
PW 17 broke open the lock and found dead bodies of his three daughters.
The investigation officer later visited the said shop of J.K. Tailors and questioned the owner of the shop, Zafar Hussain PW 18 .
The various articles, including clothes found lying in the house, were recovered.
P 8 Statement given by PW 17 Shiv Pratap, the name of the appellant was number mentioned, though he was accompanied by PW 2 Murlidhar, who is alleged to have seen the appellant along with one of the deceased prior to the incident.
For the offence under Section 302 IPC, the appellant was sentenced to death and to pay a fine of Rs.200/ by the Sessions Judge.
The appellant led the police party to the house of Ramu Ram and from his house a bag companytaining jewellery and other articles were seized under Ex.
This was challenged in appeal and the Division Bench of the Rajasthan High Court companyfirmed the companyviction and sentence of the appellant.
The companyrts below have rightly held the appellant guilty of the offences charged against him.
On the next day, he took various photographs and companyducted inquest of the dead bodies of all the five deceased persons.
Some neighbours also came there in the meanwhile and saw the ghastly incident.
He too visited the place of occurrence and companylected various articles from there.
In the facts and circumstances, it is a fit case where the presumption under Illustration a to Section 114 of the Evidence Act companyld be drawn that the appellant companymitted the murders and the robbery.
The appellant was interrogated and based on his statement, an axe was recovered from the water tank located on the terrace of the house of Shiv Pratap.
PW 23 registered a case and immediately visited the place of occurrence.
On the next night, the appellants were arrested and interrogated.
P 48 is the register maintained by him and as against serial number 427, the name of appellant, Shri Bhagwan Soni was found written.
G. BALAKRISHNAN, J. LITTTTTTTJ The facts in this criminal appeal disclose acts of unparalleled evil and barbarity as five persons of a family were battered to death without mercy by a young culprit aged about 20 years.
PW 17 Shiv Pratap, his wife, three daughters and aged parents were residing in a house at Bidasar.
