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11.On the other hand, Mr. Sushil Kumar, learned senior counsel appearing on behalf of the respondent-accused very painstakingly drew our attention to various aspects of the case,  which according to him demolish the very substratum of the prosecution case. He also heavily relied upon the fact, by making submission, that there are no eye-witnesses and no direct evidence regarding commission of the crime by the respondent. He submitted that there are no materials to show that the respondent took the deceased to room No. 319 [room of the accused] and killed him there. He further submitted that as no blood was recovered from the room No. 319 and that the two roommates of the respondent, viz., Raja Chidambaram [PW-37] & Shagir Thabris [PW-38] have not stated that they smelled any blood or saw any blood stains in the room, it definitely belies prosecution case that murder was committed in the said room of the hostel. Further submission was that PWs 37 & 38 admitted that the three knives [i.e., MOSs 9 to 11] were used for cutting fruits and that PW 37 further admitted that during the time of interrogation police neither showed the articles seized from the room of accused nor asked him to identify the said articles. The counsel for the respondent further submitted that there is no evidence to prove that the accused proceeded to Madras on 06.11.1996 at 9.00 p.m. from Chidambaram railway station, albeit he submitted that accused took train at Chidambaram on 06.11.1996 at 9.00 p.m. bound  for Tiruchirapalli to go to his native place, Karur and returned from Karur on 8th morning. Counsel stated that accused took his briefcase [MO-13] along with him and that MO-14 belongs to Raja Chidambaram [PW-37] and after meeting his parents on 7.11.96, the accused returned to Chidambaram hostel on the morning of 8.11.96 and he was in the hostel from 9-11.11.96.

PW-42 also purchased a train ticket for Tanjavur for the accused. PW-42 also stated that on 10.11.1996 he saw accused standing before Room No. 319 and on asking the accused told that he went upto Trichy and returned back. PW-35, Receptionist of Hotel Saradharam, Chidambaram stated that on 10.11.1996 at about 8.10 p.m. accused stayed in the hotel along with one Dr. Esthar and they vacated the room at 3.15 a.m. on 12.11.1996. The accused on 14.11.1996 surrendered in the Court of Judicial Magistrate, Mannarkudi and was remanded to judicial custody till 18.11.1996. On 18.11.1996 the Court ordered for five days police custody of the accused on the condition that the accused should be produced before a Doctor in the Government Hospital, Chidambaram at 10.00 a.m. daily for medical check up. The above said unusual and  eccentric conduct of the accused which is unequivocally told by the witnesses makes the conduct of the accused highly suspicious and leads to corroborate the case of the prosecution.

CONFESSIONAL STATEMENT OF ACCUSED AND CONSEQUENTIAL RECOVERIES.

26.In the present case, as stated supra, PW-1, father of the deceased, filed a report with the police for missing of his son on 10.11.1996 which was registered as Crime No. 509 of 1996 [Exhibit-P1]. In the present case the accused after surrendering before the Court of Judicial Magistrate, Mannarkudi on 14.11.1996 also gave his confessional statement [Exhibit-50] on 19.11.1996 in the presence of Rajaraman [PW-58], Village Administrative Officer for the non-municipal area of Chidambaram, wherein in very clear terms he admitted his crime as is presented by the prosecution. After the surrender of the accused on 14.11.1996 he was lodged in the Central Prison at Tiruchi. Prosecuting agency in Crime No. 509/96 filed a petition before the Judicial Magistrate, Chidambaram for the police custody of the accused U/s 167 of Cr. P.C., which was allowed by the Court for five days from 18.11.1996 on the condition that the accused should be produced before a Doctor  in the Government Hospital, Chidambaram at 10.00 a.m. daily for medical check up and at 1.30 a.m. On 19.11.1996 the accused made a voluntary confession as stated hereinabove.

35.One of the clinching evidence against the accused is the two suitcases [MOs 13 & 14]. Raja Chidambaram [PW-37], the room mate of the accused, stated in his evidence that the two suitcases in which the blood of the deceased was found belong to the accused. He also stated that MO-22, which is a bag in which the head of the deceased was recovered, also belong to  the accused. Shagir Thabris [PW-38] also corroborated the said fact in his evidence. Blood found in the suitcases matched with the blood of the deceased which is blood group `A'. It is also proved from the evidence of the students adduced in the case that foul smell was emanating from the said two suitcases and that when accused was asked about the said smell, he only replied that it is because of Biryani, which his mother had given him. Subba @ Vankatesan [PW-28], auto driver, has affirmatively stated that the accused had taken out those two suitcases with him in his auto rickshaw on 06.11.1996 when he dropped him at Chidambaram Railway Station. The hostel chowkidar examined as PW-29 [Vijayarangam] corroborated the said fact. The students of the hostel, Senthilkumar [PW-40], Joe Bulgani [PW-41], not only spoke about the foul smell emanating from the room where those suitcases were kept but also of the fact that the accused had brought those two suitcases with him when he came back to the hostel on 08.11.1996 morning. These are indeed circumstantial evidence but all leading to one conclusion that the accused is guilty of the offence of killing the deceased. There is however some doubt with regard to the place of occurrence but there is also strong and cogent evidence to indicate that the room mates of  the accused, i.e., PWs 37 and 38, were watching a cricket match during the entire afternoon, evening and till late night on 06.11.1996 in the TV room, and the accused had the room (Room No. 319) all to himself in the afternoon and evening upto 11.00 p.m. The accused left the said room with two suitcases at 8.30 p.m. which is proved by way of evidence of the watchman and auto driver. The room mate of the accused, viz., PW-38, came back to Room No. 319 at about 11.00 p.m. and slept and on the next day went home.