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Showing contexts for: contract killers in State vs Shree Gopal @ Mani Gopal on 31 August, 2009Matching Fragments
9. The motive for the crime has been proved through the testimony of ASI Baldev Singh, SI Sanjay Bhardwaj and by means of a certified copy of the judgment and order dated 1.5.2008 acquitting all the accused in FIR No.808/2002 under Sections 302/436/108/120-B IPC PS Rajouri Garden in which FIR, Dharampal, Parvesh Kumar, Mordhwaj and Geeta were accused.
10. In a nutshell, the judgment and order dated 1.5.2008 shows that the accused of said case were charged with a conspiracy to murder Neelam, the eunuch who has been murdered by the convict Shree Gopal in the instant case. In furtherance of their conspiracy, the accused in FIR No.808/2002 gave effect to their design, but failed due to mistaken identity. Thinking that Zareena, the deceased in said case, was Neelam i.e. the deceased in the instant case, the contract killer, Parvesh killed Zareena. The deceased Neelam was a witness in the said case. After Neelam was shot dead, the witnesses in the Sessions Trial pertaining to FIR No.808/2002 turned hostile resulting in the accused thereof being acquitted.
31. Though eleven aggravating circumstances have been noted by the learned Trial Judge, but a meaningful reading thereof would reveal that the learned Trial Judge has actually found four aggravating circumstance; being: (a) that the crime was committed for a monetary consideration i.e. the accused was a contract killer; (b) the murder was committed in a gruesome and diabolic manner without any instigation; (c) the crime was committed with full planning; and (d) by killing a witness the accused had polluted the stream of justice and that the crime was committed in a building where justice was administered.
32. Every case of homicide is deplorable and is also morally depraving. To be gruesome and diabolic there has to be something more than mere homicide. The body of the deceased being chopped to pieces; ten to fifteen stab wounds being inflicted i.e. the victim being treated with bestiality and cruelty and subjected to pain are instances of what can be classified as gruesome and diabolic nature of crime. To be labeled as a gruesome and diabolic murder, the features of the murder must be such that he who sees the crime or hears about the same, grimaces. An ugly, twisted expression on the face of the person witnessing or hearing about the crime, expressing disgust and pain must instantaneously be formed, if the murder is to be labeled as gruesome and diabolic. The bones of the listener of the crime must chill. Tested on the anvil aforesaid, the instant murder has no such specific feature. It is akin to every murder where a firearm is used. The manner of commission of the crime is of the general category of all such crimes of murder by use of a firearm. Thus, one aggravating circumstance noted by the learned Trial Judge i.e. that the crime is diabolical is non-existent. Since the charge of conspiracy has failed and there is no evidence that Shree Gopal was paid money by co-accused Mordhwaj and Geeta, who have been acquitted, there is no evidence that Shree Gopal has acted as a contract killer. He may well have acted as a friend or a sympathizer of the accused of FIR No.808/2002 PS Rajouri Garden. Thus, another incriminating circumstance i.e. the crime being the result of a financial gain as held by the learned Trial Judge is also not established.