Bivas
Speedy Trial in Covid Era : Role of Electronic Evidence in Latest Murder Case
Bivas Chatterjee 31 Oct 2021

Speedy Trial in Covid Era : Role of Electronic Evidence in Latest Murder Case


Speedy Trial in Covid Era : Role of Electronic Evidence in Latest Murder Case: 

BRIEF FACT OF THE CASE:

On 26-10-2020 at about 19:00 hrs. English Bazar PS had received an information regarding a person who was found lying in naked condition in his railway quarter, blood was oozing out from his mouth, face and nose and later the victim was declared as dead. Thereafter, a case was started and during investigation, I.O.  seized some articles along with one blue coloured button with orange thread and one gamcha.

During investigation it was found that one of the accused persons lastly talked to the victim over his phone at about 12:04PM being present near the house of victim on the date of incident. Thereafter, the I.O. along with force raided at the houses of the accused persons wherein they confessed their guilt of murder of Victim by manual strangulation with help of a gamcha, because the victim used to have homo-sex with one of the accused persons forcefully. Even Victim recorded a video of their homo-sex in his phone, with which he used to blackmail the accused person to have homo-sex on repeated occasion.  The accused person also revealed that they took away the said phone which was used by another accused person putting his SIM card inside the said phone and during investigation the said phone was recovered from him.

Later one sky blue coloured shirt was seized by the I.O. from the house of one of the accused persons, the buttons of the blue shirt were found missing at the time of seizure. Subsequently, the blue button with orange thread which was seized from the P.O. on the date of incident and the blue shirt seized from the house of accused person matched together by the CFSL expert.

Furthermore, during the medico-legal examination of the accused person, one bite mark was found on the ulnar side of his left hand which was made by the victim at the time of incident.        

A prima facie charge u/s 302/34 IPC has been well established against both the accused persons, 1 and 2. both of the same district.

After the receipt of CFSL report, reply from the telecom authorities and Report of Viscera respective supplementary Charge Sheets have been submitted u/s 173(8) of Cr.PC.

Charge framed on : 3rd July, 2021

Evidence started from: 26th July, 2021

Evidence closed on 18th September, 2021

Arguments of both sides closed on 29th September

Judgement on 7th October, 2021.

The circumstances relied upon:

The circumstances relied upon by the prosecution in this case to establish the guilt of the accused persons can be enumerated in below:

1.     Death of the deceased was due to manual strangulation and homicidal and ante-mortem in nature.

2.     The discovery and seizure of button along with orange thread which matched with the shirt seized from the possession of the accused person 2.

3.     The victim was last seen together with both the accused persons which was proved electronically.

4.     The seizure of gamcha and other wearing apparels and the naked dead body of the victim in the P.O. witnessed by various witnesses; The naked dead body provides evidence of sexual activities prior murder.

5.     The CCTV footage wherein it is found that both the accused persons were heading towards the Railway Colony, Kalibari which is the P.O.

6.     The seizure of mobile phone of the victim from the possession of the accused person namely accused person 2.

7.     From the CDR of both the mobile connections of the victim and the accused person 1, it is evident that prior the murder the last call received by the victim was from the accused person 1 and thereafter the mobile phone of the victim was taken by the accused persons and the existing SIM of the victim was dislocated and resulting switched off of the victim’s number. On the other hand, another sim registered in the name of  accused person 2 was inserted in the said mobile phone of Victim which is evident from the IMEI search of the victim’s mobile and CDR of of the mobile number of  accused person 2.

8.     The explanation given at the time of giving statement under section 313 Cr.P.C. by the accused persons.

9.      The then existing grudge and frustration of accused persons on the victim to get away from this blackmailing of this sexual torture at any cost.

10.   The relationship of the latitude and longitude of the P.O. and the latitude and longitude of cell IDs of mobile number of victim and the accused person namely accused person 2 showing the proximity of the location of the victim and the accused person 2 at the Place of occurrence at the relevant time. 

11.   As per the PW-3 being the autopsy surgeon, the process of strangulation, whether by hand (manual), or by ligature, results in blunt force injury of the tissues of the neck.

12.   As per the PW-3 the injury number 6, 9 and 8 of the post-mortem report (Exhibit No. - 9) was inflicted to incapacitate the victim.

13.   As per the PW-3 the injuries in the mouth of the victim could be the result of strangulation.

14.   As per the PW-3 it appears from the injuries that the body of the victim was on the hard surface of the floor as well as it also appears from the injuries that more than one accused person was present at the P.O. during the commission of offence on 26-10-2020.

15.   As per the PW-3 the victim may also leave bite marks on the body of the accused to resist attack.

16.   The injury numbers 3 and 7 of post-mortem report (Exhibit No. - 9) may be the result of prohibiting the victim by the assailants to make any movement or forward any resistance. Regarding the injury nos. 6, 8 and 9 of post-mortem report (Exhibit No. - 9) may be the result of the force applied by the assailants to stop or prohibit the victim from crying or shouting or raising any voice.

17.   Prior the murder the victim was alone in his quarter as he was on the verge of retirement due to which he shifted his family to his native place 15 days ago, this fact came repeatedly through various witnesses.

18.   As per the PW – 8 being the then medical officer of Malda Medical College and Hospital, the accused person 1 had one bite mark on ulnar side of his left hand which was made by the victim during the commission of offence on 26-10-2020.

19.   False and contradictory statements given by both the accused persons u/s 313 Cr.P.C.

20.   Admission of hatred, agony and insult towards the homo-sexual activity by the victim with the accused person 1.

21.   Forensic evidence specially from the extracted data of the victim’s mobile seized from the accused person 2 shows that video could not be recovered or undeleted from the said phone proving the fact that during the custody of the phone under the accused person 2 26-10-2020 till the date of seizure i.e. 31-10-2020, the accused persons got ample opportunity to delete the video and might have deleted the same. The extracted data also shows the prove of usage of the victim’s mobile by the accused persons.

22.   Various circumstances proving the existence of conspiracy and its object, specially from the accused persons involved in the conspiracy. The nature of murder involved in the present case clearly proves the transmission of thoughts sharing the unlawful design made by and between both the accused persons in this case.

 

The charge of the case was framed on 03.07.2021 and evidence started on 26.07.2021 and Judgement pronounced on 07/10/2021.

Both the accused persons were convicted with life imprisonment u/s 302/120B/34 IPC alongwith Rs. 10,000/- each.

 VARIOUS ELECTRONIC EVIDENCES:

       1) The CDRs and SDRs of all two crucial phone numbers of victim – it provides a crucial

Linkage in the prosecution case, namely last call with one of the accused persons and the time from when the mobile number became switched off. The decoded tower location of the victim’s number shows the presence of the victim near the place of occurrence.

2) The CDRs and SDRs of two crucial phone numbers of accused person– it provides a crucial linkage in the prosecution case, namely last call with victim. The decoded tower location of the accused’s number shows the presence of the accused near the place of occurrence.

3) The IMEI number of the victim together with CDRs of both victim and the accused person show that till 12.04 pm on 26.10.2020, the phone was used by Victim and thereafter till 31.10.2020 it was used by accused persons, until it was seized from accused person 2.

4) The relationship between the latitude and longitude of the place of occurrence and cell-Ids of two CDRs of two mobile numbers, one is of victim and other is of one of the accused persons shows that both the accused person and victim were near the P.O. at the probable time of murder.

5) The photographs – The photographs of the victim in the place of occurrence and the surroundings of the P.O. on 26.20.2020 provide the injuries inflicted upon the body of the victim, the naked condition of the body supporting the sexual activities prior murder and the presence of seized articles, specially the blue button left by one of the accused person in the P.O. arising out of the struggle prior homicidal death of the victim.

 

ROLE OF FORENSIC EVIDENCE:

CFSL Expert opinion:

The exhibit-A (button) and button marked B1 ((removed in the laboratory from exhibit-B)) were found to be similar and exhibit-A (button) could have been part of exhibit-B.

The Extracted Data from the Victim’s Red Oppo Mobile by CFSL

Keyword ‘xxx’(Mobile number of  accused person.) is found in the ‘SMS Messages’ section of ‘M1 REPORT’. However, no deleted video could be recovered by available tools and methods in this laboratory as per query.

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