HC delivers split judgement on death sentence to 2 convicts in 2013 Pakur SP murder case
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Ranchi: A division bench of Justices Rongon Mukhopadhyay and Sanjay Prasad of the Jharkhand high court delivered a split judgement on the confirmation of death sentence awarded to two convicts by the Dumka Sessions Judge on 26 September 2018 for the death of five policeman and former Pakur superintendent of police (SP) Amarjit Balihar.
Hearing the criminal appeal filed by Pravir Murmu alias Pravir Da and Sanatan Baskey alias Tala Da, Justice Mukhopadhyay acquitted the convicts, while Justice Prasad found the convicts to be guilty and upheld the death sentence in the 197-page judgement delivered on July 17.
The then Pakur SP Amarjit Balihar and his team travelling in two police vehicles were ambushed by extremists near Jamni crusher plant under the Kathikund police station limits in Dumka on 2 July 2013.
SP Balihar, along with five personnel Rajiv Kumar Sharma, Manoj Hembram, Chandan Kumar Thapa, Ashok Kumar Srivastava, and Santosh Kumar Mandal, attained martyrdom. Constables Lebenius Marandi and Dhanraj Maraiya survived the carnage and became eyewitnesses.
Constables Marandi and Maraiya mentioned in the FIR lodged with the Kathikund police station that they were fired at by extremists and got no chance to react.
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The two witnesses also claimed that they heard the extremists take the names of Pravir Da and Tala Da (Appellants).
The prosecution examined 31 witnesses, including the two eyewitnesses, in the court of the Dumka Sessions Judge, which found accused Pravir Da and Tala Da guilty and awarded death penalty.
Sanatan filed an appeal before the high court on 14 December 2018, while Pravir filed on 18 December 2018 against the verdict by the Dumka sessions judge .
In the high court, Justice Mukhopadhyay held that the version of the eyewitnesses was not reliable. "The witnesses had deposed that they had become unconscious after the shooting and therefore could not have heard the names of the appellants. Though both Marandi and Maraiya were witnesses to the occurrence, they had not seen the convicts participating in the mayhem," the court observed. In para 68 of the judgement, Justice Mukhopadhyay set aside the order of conviction and the death sentence awarded to the convicts.
Taking a contradictory view, Justice Prasad held that the eyewitnesses, who were police constables in the team of slain SP Amarjit Balihar, had identified Prabir Da and Tala Da in the court to be present at the place of occurrence. Justice Prasad further held that the gruesome death of an IPS officer, along with his police team in discharge of their official duty, were murdered in broad daylight does not evoke any sympathy.
Affirming the death sentence awarded to the two appellants, Justice Prasad directed the state govt to provide a compensation of Rs 2 crores to the kith and kin of Amarjit Balihar and further provide a job in the rank of DSP/deputy collector to the son and daughter of the deceased police officer. Further, a compensation of Rs 50 lakh each should also be provided to the family members of the five police constables who died in the incident and a Grade-IV job in the govt on compassionate grounds.
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