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(h) The investigation revealed that on 21-06-2004, the deceased and his elder brother Haobam Ajit Singh, P.W.11, had arrived at Gangtok in their Maruti Esteem Car, M.O.I from Manipur. On 25-06-2004 the deceased had left Gangtok for Siliguri alone in his car and, at the Presbyterian Church, Pradhan Nagar, Siliguri, while searching for one of his friends from Manipur, he met Kumar Pariyar, P.W.21, a driver of that Church with whom Rudra Thapa, Accused No.1, had been residing. The deceased stayed at that place till 28-06-2004 and during this time he got acquainted with the Accused No.1 and the Appellant. On 27-06-2004 when the victim asked the two accused persons to look for a buyer for the Maruti Esteem Car, M.O.I, on payment of some commission, they offered to purchase it themselves at a cost fixed at Rs.1,20,000/-. As the accused persons did not have the capacity to pay the amount they conspired to rob the deceased of the vehicle by murdering him.

(a) We may for convenience take these circumstances together and analyse the evidence relevant thereto.

(b) It is in the evidence of P.W.26 that he found the address and cell phone number of one Haobam Ajit Singh in the pocket diary, Exhibit 34, recovered from the pocket of the deceased and when contacted the said Haobam Ajit Singh informed that Avijit Haobam was his younger brother and that he had come to Sikkim along with him in a Maruti Esteem Car bearing registration No.MN 1K 2920 and after 3/4 days of his stay with him at Gangtok the said Avijit Haobam had left for Siliguri in his own car, i.e., the Maruti Esteem Car. It is based on this information that the deceased was identified as "Avijit Haobam". The person who spoke thus to P.W.26 was P.W.11 who in his evidence, apart from reaffirming what he had narrated earlier over phone to P.W.25, further went on to state that on 27-06-2004 at about 6.30 p.m. the deceased had rung him up and informed that he was in Siliguri and was staying there in the Presbyterian Church at Pradhan Nagar with his friend by the name of Rudra Thapa. We may reproduce below the relevant portions of the evidence of P.W.11 and P.W.21:-

[emphasis supplied]

(b) Analysing the above evidence in the light of the evidence of Haobam Ajit Singh, P.W.11 reproduced earlier, the prosecution appears to have been successful in establishing that the deceased was in close interaction with Rudra Thapa, Accused No.1 and the Appellant at Siliguri during the period commencing from 25-06-2004 to 29-06-2004. That the deceased intended to sell his Maruti Esteem Car, M.O.I, for which he sought the help of the Accused No.1 and the Appellant and, that the accused persons agreed to purchase the vehicle at a cost of Rs.1,20,000/- on 50:50 basis between them. That at about 9 a.m. of 29-06-2004 the deceased and the accused persons had left for the house of the Appellant at Soreng, West Sikkim, in the same Maruti Esteem Car, M.O.I, driven by the deceased where he was promised payment of price of the vehicle and, therefore, the deceased was last seen with the accused persons on that day.

(c) We also find from the evidence of Pradeep Gupta, P.W.10, that a Maruti Esteem Car was seen parked in front of Jorethang Kali Mandir between 10 to 10.30 p.m. under a pole light and a person standing in front of the car.

(d) Therefore, considering the evidence set out above, there can be no manner of doubt that Maruti Esteem Car bearing No.MN 1K 2920, i.e., M.O.I, did cross the Melli Check Post at about 6 p.m. of 29-06-2004 heading for Soreng, West Sikkim from Siliguri with three persons aboard. Further, it can reasonably be inferred that it was the very Maruti Esteem Car, M.O.I , that was seen by P.W.10 parked in front of the Kali Mandir, 16th Mile, Jorethang-Melli Road between 10 to 10-.30 p.m. since the Vehicle Movement Register, Exhibit 5, had not recorded entry of any other vehicle of that make that night.