Criminal appeal no. 216/2015
Delhi High Court
BENCH: Hon’ble Sanjiv Khanna J., Hon’ble R.K. Gauba J.
DATE OF JUDGEMENT: 27th January 2016
RELEVANT SECTIONS:
- Section 302 IPC (Punishment for murder)
- Section 201 IPC (Causing disappearance of evidence of the offence, or giving false information to screen offender)
BACK STORY
The station house officer of Hari Nagar police station, Inspector Hoshiyar Singh received a call from the alleged perpetrator, identified himself as Mukesh Tiwari had informed having thrown the headless body outside Gate 3 of Tihar Jail. Inspector Sunder Singh reached the scene where a headless torso of a male, about 25-28-year-old, found in a basket wrapped in a jute bag with pieces of plastic and newspaper was found. The body had a tattoo of a scorpion on the left shoulder and word Amit inscribed on the right arm in Hindi. A letter which ridicules the police with a challenge to identify the perpetrator and taunt the Delhi Police for dishonourable conduct and false implication of innocents like the perpetrator was found near the torse. In the letter, he also admitted to having murdered in November 2003 and threw a body near Tihar. From this Police concluded that accused was involved in a criminal case in north-west district in 2003 and they shortlisted the four accused in Gate 3 of jail including Chandrakant Jha.
On 25 April 2007 , the Police found another decapitated and limbless body of male aged about 20 years packed in a carton near Gate no. 3 of Tihar Jail. The deceased was later identified as Upender who was worked and lived with Chandrakant Jha in Haiderpur.
On 18 May 2007 ASI Rampal received a call from alleged perpetrator and informed that a dead body was lying in a bag near Gate No.1 of Tihar Jail. Police reached the spot and found a plastic bag containing headless and limbless torso with letter professes that the perpetrator was responsible for first and second murder on 20 October 2006 and 25 April 2007. Next day on 19th May carton containing body parts and genitalia was found in front of the State Bank of India Branch, Tis Hazari Court Complex, Delhi.
On May 20, Jha was arrested in Alipur by Hari Nagar Police and FIR was registered related to the Umesh’s murder case, November 2003 according to perpetrator confession in the first letter recovered with Amit’s torso. Bloodstained earth, three long knives with bloodstains, mobile phone, motorized rickshaw were recovered from the rented room of Chandrakant Jha at Haiderpur Colony.
Jha was arrested in the case of murder in 1998 and acquitted in 2002 and released. Due to lack of evidence against Jha in the case of Umesh’s murder,2003 except disclosure letter found in 2007, he was acquitted and released for that murder also.
POSTMORTEM REPORT
Dr. Anil Shandilya conducted the post mortem examination of the unknown decapitated body related to FIR No.609/2006 on 30 October 2006. According to the post mortem report, the cause of death was ante-mortem decapitated injury with sharp-edged weapon and time since death was estimated as about 10 and 1/2 days. Blood in gauze piece, bag, nylon rope, two underwear and sternum for DNA fingerprinting were handed over to the Investigating Officer.
Dr. Anil Shandilya also conducted the post mortem on the headless and limbless body which was recovered on 18 May 2007 near Tihar Jail. According to the post mortem report, the nature of wounds was post mortem in nature and caused by a sharp-edged weapon. On the same day, he also conducted the post mortem on both upper and lower limbs as well as genitalia recovered on 19th May at Tis Hazari Court Complex. The report concluded that they were the dismembered parts of the human body. Right, and left humerus bone along with the pubic hair was handed over to the Investigating Officer.
FORENSIC REPORT
Examination of dossier revealed that Anil Mandal @ Amit, son of Tiwari Mandal had same tattoo marks and word Amit on his arms. Dr.A.K.Srivastava conducted DNA profiling and the test concluded that Anil Mandal @Amit as the biological father of Manda. He had referred to DNA profiling of teeth of the recovered jaw from banks of river Yamuna and sternum, his report Ex.35/F concluded that both biological samples belong to same person Anil Mandal @Amit.
Sanjeev Kumar, Senior Scientific Officer (Documents), FSL, Delhi had compared and examined the first letter with specimen samples (S1-S7) and second letter with specimen samples (S1-S64). He opined that both letters and specimen handwritings are identical. Both letters were considered as confession letter of the first two murders.
Dr.A.K.Srivastava opined in their report of DNA fingerprinting that the headless torso and body parts recovered on 18th and 19th May were of the same person.
Chandrakant Jha as the person who made the call at police control room on 18th May 2007 has been identified by Dev Raj, telephone booth operator, FSL report stated that blood group found on one knife matched with blood group found on cloth pieces found along with headless torso on 18th May 2007.
JUDGEMENT
Chandrakant Jha was charged for offences punishable under section 302 and section 201 0f IPC. On 27 January 2016, the appeal and the death reference, in this case, was also disposed of.