Amitava Banerjee @ Amit @ Bappa Banerjee vs State Of West Bengal

2. Asit Kumar Mondal, Sub-Inspector of Police was at the relevant point of time attached to Jhargram Court. His family comprised his wife and a son named Snehasish Mondal @ Babusona aged about 10/12 years residing at `B' Block of Thana Quarters' Complex at Ghoradhara, Jhargram. In the same complex, lived the appellant, whose father was also working as a Sub-Inspector of Police and was at the relevant time posted at Beliabera Police Station. According to the prosecution, the deceased Snehasish Mondal was friendly with the younger brother of the appellant and would usually play cricket with him in a park situate behind the residential quarters and by the side of the BDO office. A few days before the incident in question, the deceased is alleged to have come to the house of the appellant to collect a cricket bat and ball for play in the park mentioned above and seen the appellant in a compromising position with Mangala Deloi, PW10 aged about 20 years who was then working as a maid- 2 servant in the house of the appellant. The prosecution case is that the appellant apprehended loss of face in the locality on account of a possible disclosure of his involvement with his maid-servant which according to the prosecution was the motive for silencing the innocent boy for all times by killing him in cold blood.

4. On July 13, 1998, Jhargram Police Station received information about a freshly dug ditch filled up with a heap of loose earth in Sitaldihi jungle close to Kanchan Oil Mill. The police on receipt of this information rushed to the spot and found that a freshly dug ditch had indeed been filled up with loose earth and that a black coloured Hero bicycle was parked against one of the trees at some distance. The Executive Magistrate of the area was summoned to the spot by the police and the earth heaped over the ditch got removed only to discover the dead body of the deceased Snehasish Mondal with his hands tied at the back and a handkerchief stuffed into its mouth. Recovery of the dead body of the deceased and conduct of an inquest by the Executive Magistrate led to the registration of FIR No.91 of 1998 for the commission of an offence under Sections 364, 302 and 201 of the IPC on 4 the basis of a written complaint made to the above effect by Asit Kumar Mondal father of the deceased Babusona.

5. The police seized the bicycle from Sitaldihi jungle besides a cap which the appellant was allegedly wearing on the date of the incident. Post-mortem examination conducted by Dr. Rajat Kanti Satpati, PW 15 proved that the deceased had died as a result of asphyxia because of throattling/strangulation which was ante-mortem and homicidal in nature. In the course of investigation the police also seized a spade which the appellant had allegedly borrowed from Jadunath Das, PW 6 and which the appellant had on the fateful day left with Rukshmini Yadav, PW 11. Statements of witnesses who had last seen the deceased, in the company of the appellant, in the park and later going towards the Kanchan Oil Mill and inside the Sitaldihi jungle were also recorded. Suffice it to say that on the completion of the investigation a charge-sheet was filed against the appellant before the Court of SDJM Jhargram who committed the case to the Court of Sessions at Midnapore. The Sessions Judge in turn 5 transferred the same to the 5th Additional Sessions Judge Midnapore, for trial and disposal.

6. At the trial the prosecution examined as many as 22 witnesses in support of its case including Asit Mondal, PW1 and his wife Smt. Chhanda Mondal, PW 14, who supported the prosecution case. Gurupada Mondal, PW 2, who reported the presence of the bicycle and the ditch in Sitaldihi jungle to the police, Sunil Deloi, PW 5 who had seen the appellant coming out of the Sitaldihi jungle on 13th July, 1998 at 5.30-6.00 a.m., Jadunath Das, PW 6 who deposed about the borrowing of the spade by the appellant on 12th July, 1998 in the morning, Rajib Roy Chowdhary, PW 7, and Jiten Sen, PW 8 both of whom saw Babusona talking to the appellant in the park and then going towards Sitaldihi jungle on the latter's bicycle. Tarapada Mahato, PW 9 who saw the appellant and the deceased inside the Sitaldihi jungle on 12th July, 1998 in the evening, Rukshmini Yadav, PW 11 who testified to the appellant leaving a spade at her house on 12th July, 1998 in the evening, Tarun Banerjee, PW13 who saw the bicycle 6 in the Sitaldihi jungle and identified it as that of the appellant. Dr. Rajat Kanti Satpati, PW 15 who conducted the post-mortem examination, Dipak Kumar Sarkar, PW- 16, Executive Magistrate, who conducted the inquest, Tapan Kumar Chatterjee, PW17 who made an entry in the General Diary under S.No.463 regarding the presence of a cycle and the ditch in the jungle and Swapan Kumar Mohanti, PW20, Judicial Magistrate, who conducted the test identification parade were also examined by the prosecution apart from the Investigating Officer Shri Kushal Mitra, PW22.

8. On the above findings the Trial Court found the appellant guilty of offences punishable under Section 302 of the IPC and sentenced him to imprisonment for life and a fine of Rs.2,000/- in default whereof the appellant was directed to undergo a further imprisonment for two months. No separate sentence was, however, awarded to 1 the appellant for the offences punishable under Sections 364 and 201 of the IPC though the said offence held proved.

9. Aggrieved by his conviction and sentence the appellant preferred an appeal before the High Court of Judicature at Calcutta. The High Court has by the judgment and order impugned in this appeal affirmed the conviction and sentence awarded to the appellant and dismissed the appeal. The High Court has while doing so re-appraised the evidence on record held that the circumstances proved at the trial were explainable on no other hypothesis except the guilt of the appellant. The High Court observed:

17. The prosecution has also placed reliance upon the deposition of Jadunath Das, PW 6, who also happened to be one of the residents of the police complex and knew the appellant and the deceased. According to this witness on 12th July, 1998 which happened to be a Sunday, the appellant called him at about 10.30 in the morning and asked for the spade which the witness owned as the former wanted to plant flowers. The witness further stated that the appellant took the spade and wrapped its wooden part with a piece of newspaper and `Sutli' (jute string) and carried the spade with him tied to his bicycle. The spade was not, however, returned by the appellant to him. The 1 witness identified the spade seized by the police and marked Ex.11 to be the one which the appellant had borrowed from him on the date mentioned above.

3 (13) Apart from leaves of Anand Bazar Patrika, the `Sutli' found tied around the neck of the deceased was also seized by the police along with the electric wire marked M.O. Ext.XIII. Depositions of Asit Kumar Mondal, PW1, Dilip Namata, PW3, Sunil Delio PW5, and Kushal Mitra, PW22 establish the fact.

(15) The spade had been taken by the appellant on the morning of 12th July, 1998 from Jadunath Das, PW6, on the pretext of planting some flowers. The witness also proved that the appellant had wrapped the wooden part of the spade with newspaper and tied it with `Sutli' (jute string) and carried the same on his bicycle.

36. In the result this appeal fails and is hereby dismissed.