PANAJI
The Bombay High Court at Goa has acquitted a man who spent eight years in jail for the murder of a co-worker at a construction site in Merces in 2016.
The High Court gave Hira Lohar the benefit of the doubt, stating that the testimony of the only eyewitness was unreliable and lacked supporting evidence or additional witnesses.
Lohar had previously been convicted by the Sessions Court and sentenced to life imprisonment under Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) along with a fine.
“This case primarily rests solely upon the testimony of Amit Dungdung, which is full of blemishes, absolutely uninspiring in confidence. In the case of a sole eyewitness, the witness has to be reliable, trustworthy, his testimony worthy of credence and the case proven beyond reasonable doubt. Unnatural conduct and unexplained circumstances can be a ground for disbelieving the witness,” the High Court said.
“However, where the single eyewitness is not found to be a wholly reliable witness, in the sense that there are some circumstances which may show that he could have an interest in the prosecution, then the courts generally insist upon some independent corroboration of his testimony, in material particulars, before recording conviction,” the High Court also observed.
Police alleged that on 15 July 2016, at around 01:00 hours, at the under-construction Poonam Shanti site in Merces, Goa, Lohar strangled Bishnath Mehar with a rope-like material, hanged him from a cement beam, and later inflicted stomach injuries with a koita (a sharp tool).
Mehar, Lohar, and Dungdung, the only eyewitness, had come to Goa together for work. They had an argument when they reached Margao Railway Station because Mehar had prevented Lohar from sleeping on the train.
Later, the three of them went to the construction site, where they drank alcohol with other workers. The deceased allegedly harassed and abused Lohar, and another fight broke out. The police claimed that after everyone had fallen asleep, Lohar strangled Mehar with a rope and hanged him from a beam.
Dungdung, who had fallen asleep, allegedly woke up to the sound of coughing and witnessed the incident.
However, the Court found inconsistencies in the evidence.
“The blood report of the deceased reveals that it is ‘O’ Rh positive. The blood group sample of the accused reveals that his blood group also is ‘O’ Rh positive. On the T-shirt of the accused, the blood detected was of group 'A' as per the FSL report. Thus, this does not match with that of the accused. A sealed envelope, which contained exhibit 3 a stained gauze piece by which blood was taken from the floor where the deceased body was lying reveals that the blood group 'A' is detected,” the High Court observed.
The Court also highlighted that the eyewitness knew the deceased, as they were from the same village. The deceased had even paid for the eyewitness’s train fare to Goa.
“The conduct of (the eyewitness) on seeing the deceased murdered in front of his eyes who he knew so well and in fact had helped him, going off to sleep along with the accused and not disclosing the incident for such a long time is quite unnatural,” the High Court also observed.
“Even from the evidence of the Doctor, it cannot be ascertained whether the death is homicidal or suicidal. In the absence of any other evidence linking the accused to the murder of the deceased, the testimony of PW-11 will have to be discarded as doubtful in the absence of any other direct or circumstantial evidence, ocular or otherwise, linking the accused to the incident,” the High Court said while acquitting the accused.
