89
of the appellants is ruled out by such evidence, and the irresistible inference
which follows, is their guilt.
166. In the opinion of this court, the proof of the circumstances against the
appellants clearly points to their guilt, and involvement in the crime. It appears
that the appellants had informed themselves about the deceased and their
movement. Perhaps they kept a watch over the area. Their common intention
clearly was to rob the deceased, who had newly shifted to Indore and into the
locality, on 19.06.2011. Though the exact time of occurrence is unknown, the
post-mortem report reflected the duration of death within 12 to 36 hours from
the time procedure started, which was after 11 AM on 20.06.2011. It is
reasonable to infer, therefore, that death occurred sometime during the day, on
19.06.2011. Though the evidence of PW-10 has been disbelieved, the evidence
of PW-5, PW-9 and PW-2, shows that the crime was noticed in the evening of
19.06.2011 when the bodies were discovered, and the police reached the scene.
167. The nature and description of the injuries on the deceased show that they
had apparently put up a fight- which perhaps the appellants had not expected.
The intention to rob the deceased, and coerce them into handing over their
valuables, soon turned violent, due to the unexpected fight put up against the
accused. There are several sharp-edged injuries, and one bullet injury which
fatally wounded Megha. As a result, it is evident that to subdue the three
deceased women, the accused resorted to frenzied knife attacks. The persistent
resistance given by the deceased, coupled with the nature of injuries with sharp
weapons (the two knives) were fatal to both Rohini and Ashlesha. The fact that
the accused had to repeatedly stab them, reveals that the said appellants were
not familiar with wielding such a weapon. Weapons (2 knives and 1 pistol) have
specifically been recovered from the possession of Manoj and Rahul, and in
these circumstances, their conviction for the offences with which they were
charged, is justified.
Select target paragraph3
Connect to a paragraph
Connect to an entity
Disable highlights
Add to table of contents