HC acquits 2 of charge of killing dacoit, wife

Bombay High Court has acquitted two persons of the charge of killing a dacoit and his wife, saying the duo had acted in self defence.
Justice R C Chavan quashed the five-year RI sentence awarded to Aba Rama Handal (40) and Ramchandra Rama Handal(32) after they were found guilty of culpable homicide not amounting to murder (section 304 part II) by a trial court.
Hearing an appeal filed by them, the Judge held that the appellants, residents of Solapur district, had acted in exercise of their right of defence, covered by Section 100 of the IPC and are entitled to be acquitted.

In the case, Banglya Pardhi, who had dacoity cases against him, and his wife Baby had gone to the house of one Rama Handal and extorted money from him at knife point. The duo even inflicted injuries on Rama after he refused to pay the money.
Rama and his children, Aba and Ramachandra, retaliated by hitting the duo with sticks and stones by which Banglya and Baby eventually died.
An FIR was registered against Rama, Aba and Ramchandra. All the three faced trial in which Rama was acquitted while the other two were convicted. Being aggrieved, they filed an appeal in the High Court.

The counsel for the appellants, Pritam Runwal, argued that there was no evidence to show that Aba and Ramchandra had attacked Banglya and his wife. Evidence produced by the police was hearsay and confession made to a police officer by the accused was not admissible.

Prosecutor A R Patil argued that the accused had voluntarily made a statement before the police officer that they killed the dacoit and his wife with sticks and stones.
The prosecution had also relied upon evidence of Manohar, brother of the accused, who deposed before the court saying that the villagers had informed him about the incident.

The appellants could not dispute the statement of their brother that Banglya and Baby died as a result of injuries suffered by them after they were attacked with sticks and stones, the prosecutor argued.