Jharkhand High Court
The State Of Jharkhand vs Deepak Kumar @ Golu @ D. Kumar on 28 April, 2025
Author: Rongon Mukhopadhyay
Bench: Rongon Mukhopadhyay
Neutral Citation No. ( 2025:JHHC:12687-DB )
(Against the judgment and order of conviction and sentence
dated 01.04.2023 (sentence passed on 06.04.2023) passed by
Sri Rajendra Kumar Sinha, learned Special Judge (FTC)(CAW),
East Singhbhum at Jamshedpur in S.T. No. 167/2021.)
.............
Death Reference No. 05 of 2023
The State of Jharkhand ... Appellant
Versus
Deepak Kumar @ Golu @ D. Kumar, S/o Late Pramod
Prasad Sahu, R/o Quarter No. 97/99, Tista Road Kadma,
P.O. + P.S. Kadma, Dist. - East Singhbhum, A/P in
Central Jail at Ghaghidih, P.O. & P.S. Ghaghidih,
Jamshedpur, Dist.- East Singhbhum, Jharkhand.
... Respondent
With
Criminal Appeal (DB) No. 1400 of 2024
Deepak Kumar @ Golu @ D. Kumar, S/o Late Pramod
Prasad Sahu, R/o Quarter No. 97/99, Tista Road Kadma,
P.O. + P.S. Kadma, Dist. - East Singhbhum, A/P in
Central Jail at Ghaghidih, P.O. & P.S. Ghaghidih,
Jamshedpur, Dist.- East Singhbhum, Jharkhand.
... Appellant
Versus
The State of Jharkhand ... Respondent
----
PRESENT
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE RONGON MUKHOPADHYAY
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE ARUN KUMAR RAI
----
In D. Ref. No. 5 of 2023
For the State : Mr. Vineet Kr. Vashishtha, Spl. P.P.
For the Convict : Mr. Chandrajit Mukherjee, Adv.
In Cr. Appeal (DB) No. 1400 of 2024
For the Appellant : Mr. Chandrajit Mukherjee, Adv.
For the Resp. : Mr. Sanjay Kr. Srivastava, A.P.P.
----
CAV on : 18/12/2024 Pronounced on : 28/04/2025
Per Rongon Mukhopadhyay, J. :
1. Heard Mr. Chandrajit Mukherjee, learned counsel for the
appellant and Mr. Vineet Kr. Vashishtha, learned Spl. P.P
assisted by Mr. Sanjay Kr. Srivastava, learned A.P.P.
Neutral Citation No. ( 2025:JHHC:12687-DB )
2. This appeal is directed against the judgment and order of
conviction and sentence dated 01.04.2023 (sentence passed on
6.04.2023 passed by Sri Rajendra Kumar Sinha, learned Special
Judge, FTC (CAW) East Singhbhum, Jamshedpur, in S.T. No.
167/2021 whereby and whereunder, the appellant has been
convicted for the offence punishable under Section 302, 376(1),
307, 201 and 379 IPC and has been sentenced to undergo
rigorous imprisonment for ten years for the conviction under
Section 307IPC, imprisonment for five years for the conviction
under Section 201 IPC, rigorous imprisonment for three years for
the conviction under Section 379 IPC, rigorous imprisonment for
life along with a fine of Rs. 50,000/- for the offence under
Section376(1) IPC and in default of payment of fine to undergo
simple imprisonment for one year and the appellant has further
been sentenced to death and a fine of Rs. 10,000/- for the offence
under Section 302IPC and in default of payment of fine to
undergo simple imprisonment for one year.
3. The prosecution case arises out of the written report of
Anand Kumar Sahu dated 13.04.2021 in which it has been
alleged that on 12.04.2021 at 3:50PM, a call came from Roshan
Kumar in the mobile of the wife of the informant, Jai Shree Sahu,
in which it was disclosed that Deepak Kumar (appellant) had
made a murderous assault upon Roshan Kumar and his brother-
in-law Ankit and both are being treated at T.M.H. At this, the
informant and his wife went to T.M.H., where they saw Roshan
Kumar and Ankit Kumar in a seriously injured condition and on
being asked, Roshan Kumar had stated that Deepak Kumar had
invited them for lunch at his place of stay at Quarter No.- 11,
Tista Road, Kadma and as soon as they entered the house,
Deepak Kumar had committed assault upon them. The
informant thereafter, had gone to the residence of Deepak Kumar
where he found the house locked and the fans, lights and air
2|Page
Neutral Citation No. ( 2025:JHHC:12687-DB )
conditioners in all the rooms were running. In the meantime, the
family members of the teacher of the niece of the informant had
also come searching for her as she had not returned to her home.
This created a suspicion in the mind of the informant and he had
immediately gathered the neighbors and had also called a
locksmith and after breaking open the lock, he and the others
went inside and saw in one room on bed, the dead bodies of the
nieces of the informant Sanvi and Shrawani lying in a pool of
blood and in the adjacent room, the dead body of the sister of the
informant was lying. The scooty of the tuition teacher was found
in the said room. When they started searching the other room,
they found the lifeless body of the tuition teacher inside a box
bed. It was presumed that Deepak Kumar, by hatching a
conspiracy, had committed all the murders. On further enquiry,
it came to light that Deepak Kumar had absconded by taking
away all the jewelry.
Based on the aforesaid allegations, Kadma P.S. Case No.
67/2021 was instituted for the offences punishable under
Section 326, 307, 302, 201, 379 IPC. On completion of
investigation, charge sheet was submitted under Section 326,
307, 302, 376, 201, 379 IPC and after cognizance was taken, the
case was committed to the Court of Sessions where it was
registered as S.T. No. 167/2021. Charge was framed against the
accused under Section 302, 376(1), 201, 307, 326 and 379 IPC
which was read over and explained to the accused, to which he
pleaded not guilty and claimed to be tried.
4. The prosecution has examined as many as twenty-five
witnesses in support of the case:
P.W.1 Binod Kr. Sahu has stated that on 12.04.2021 in the
morning, he was going from his office at Kadma to his residence,
when he got a phone call from his younger brother Anand Kumar
Sahu wherein, he was informed that Deepak Kumar has injured
3|Page
Neutral Citation No. ( 2025:JHHC:12687-DB )
Roshan Kumar and his brother-in-law and he was asked to come
to T.M.H., where Deepak Kumar was already present. He has
stated that he went to TMH where he found his brother-in-law
Roshan Kumar in a seriously injured condition. He has two
sisters; Veena Kumari and Reena Kumari. Veena Kumari was
married to Deepak Kumar and they had two daughters. After
marriage his sister was residing happily at her matrimonial
house. All the jewelry of his sister Veena Kumari was kept in his
custody and on 12.04.2021 at 10:00AM, Deepak Kumar had
come to his house and all the jewelries were handed over to him
as Deepak Kumar had stated that he has arranged for a locker
to keep the jewelries. When Deepak Kumar had come to ask for
the jewelries, his behavior was normal. He has stated that he had
gone to the quarter of Deepak Kumar with his brother Anand,
where he found the door locked and all the air conditioners and
fans running. He was of the belief that by mistake the air
conditioners and fans had not been switched off at which, he got
the lock broken and on entering the house he found Sanvi
Kumari and Diya Kumari lying dead in their bed. When he
rushed to the other bedroom, he found his sister lying dead
drenched in blood. He came outside and sounded an alarm. The
family members of Rinki Ghosh, the tuition teacher of Sanvi
Kumari and Diya Kumari were waiting outside from morning and
as soon as he came to the house, they started questioning him.
He found the scooty of the tuition teacher inside the room. He
and the others who were present, started searching for Rinki
Ghosh and in another room inside a box bed, her naked body
was found. Her hands were tied with a tape and a tape was found
put around her neck. The Police was informed and thereafter, his
brother Anand Kumar Sahu had given a written application in
the Police Station pursuant to which, the First Information
Report was instituted.
4|Page
Neutral Citation No. ( 2025:JHHC:12687-DB )
In cross-examination, he has deposed that he has not seen
the occurrence. His suspicion is towards Deepak Kumar of
committing the murders. His brother-in-law is not involved in
any criminal activity. He had a cordial relationship with his
brother-in-law. There has never been any quarrel between his
sister and his brother-in-law. He did not know Rinki Ghosh prior
to the occurrence.
P.W.2 Roshan Kumar has stated that he knows Deepak
Kumar who was addressed by him as "Mama". He used to
frequent the house of Deepak Kumar. He had solemnised
marriage with Aradhya and during that period he had stayed for
four months in the house of Deepak Kumar at Quarter No.
97/99, Tista Road, Kadma since his family members had an
objection to the said marriage. During his stay in the house of
Deepak Kumar, he had developed a close bonding with the family
members of Deepak Kumar. In the meantime, on the request of
Deepak Kumar, he had engaged the Hyva of Deepak Kumar in
the company in which his Hyva was running. He has stated that
on 12.04.2021 at around 9:30AM, Deepak had called him on his
mobile which was picked up by his wife. Deepak had invited him
to his house for lunch with his entire family members on the
pretext that Ram Navami is approaching. At 11:30AM, he had
called Deepak and wanted to know as to when he and his family
members will come and Deepak had asked him to come early
since they will be having lunch together. At around 2:00PM,
Deepak had called his wife Aradhya on her mobile from the
mobile of the wife of Deepak Kumar showing his anxiety that it
was getting late and they should come quickly. He has stated
that thereafter he, his wife, daughter and brother-in-law Ankit
left for the house of Deepak Kumar in his Swift Dzire car. On the
way, his infant daughter defecated. On reaching the house of
Deepak Kumar, he disclosed that his infant daughter has
5|Page
Neutral Citation No. ( 2025:JHHC:12687-DB )
defecated in the car at which, Deepak Kumar asked him to go to
the washroom and clean her. He and his wife with their daughter
went to the washroom and his brother-in-law Ankit sat on a sofa
in the hall. When he came out of the washroom to the hall, he
saw Deepak Kumar assaulting Ankit with a hammer. Ankit was
shouting and he was drenched in blood. He, by shouting, rushed
towards Deepak Kumar and caught hold of him and in course of
struggle, he took Deepak Kumar to the kitchen. His wife went
outside the house and raised a cry of alarm. He had screamed
and asked his wife to take away the child. He got injured on
account of the assault committed upon him by Deepak Kumar
with a hammer. He had grabbed Deepak Kumar tightly, who tried
to cause bodily injury to him with a knife. On account of the
howling of his wife, 3-4 persons had gathered and on seeing
them, Deepak Kumar became calm and composed and told them
that due to some dispute with respect to the income of the
vehicle, the scuffle had taken place. In the meantime, one person
had taken Ankit on his car to T.M.H. He also followed them with
his daughter for T.M.H. He had seen Deepak Kumar with a bag
and by locking the door, followed him in his Bullet, but after
sometime he disappeared. After reaching T.M.H., he had called
Anand Kumar Sahu and when he came to T.M.H., he briefed him
about the incident. Ankit was admitted in T.M.H., while he had
received some stitches on his head. He had requested Anand
Kumar Sahu to bring his mobile as it had fallen down in the
house of Deepak Kumar at the time of scuffle. Thereafter, Anand
Kumar Sahu had left for the residence of Deepak Kumar who
later on called him and informed that Deepak Kumar has
committed the murder of his wife, daughters and the tuition
teacher.
In cross-examination, he has deposed that he had stayed
with his wife Aaradhya in the house of Deepak Kumar for a period
6|Page
Neutral Citation No. ( 2025:JHHC:12687-DB )
of four months and during this period, Deepak Kumar had
extended a cordial behaviour to them. He used to go to the house
of Deepak Kumar whenever he was called. He had plied the
vehicle of Deepak Kumar on a partnership basis for a few months
and he had cleared all the dues. An enmity had developed
between him and Deepak Kumar regarding running of the
vehicle. When he had gone to the house of Deepak Kumar, he
was welcomed by him with a smiling face. He does not have any
knowledge about the other incident except the assault which he
had witnessed.
P.W.3 Ankit Pandey alias Ankit Kumar has stated that on
12.04.2021, he had come to Jamshedpur to the house of his
brother-in-law Roshan Kumar. At around 2:00PM, on the
invitation of Deepak Kumar, he along with his brother-in-law,
sister and niece had gone to the house of Deepak Kumar to have
lunch. On the way, his niece had defecated and on reaching the
house of Deepak Kumar who welcomed them with a smiling face,
his brother-in-law and sister went to the washroom to clean up
his niece while he sat on the sofa playing games on his mobile.
Deepak Kumar came and started fixing a nail on the wall with a
hammer and suddenly Deepak Kumar attacked him with the
hammer and gave repeated blows on his head. When he started
shouting, his brother-in-law and sister came rushing and in
order to save him, his brother-in-law grappled with Deepak
Kumar. He fell down on the floor and he was taken to T.M.H. by
his sister. He had remained at T.M.H. for one year. His brother-
in-law disclosed that he was also assaulted on his head by
Deepak Kumar with a hammer. He had later on come to know
that Deepak Kumar had committed the murder of his wife,
children as well as the tuition teacher.
In cross-examination, he has deposed that he does not have
any knowledge about the incident.
7|Page
Neutral Citation No. ( 2025:JHHC:12687-DB )
P.W.4 Tomal Ghosh is the cousin of the deceased Rinki
Ghosh, who has stated that on 12.04.2021, his sister had gone
to impart tuition to the house of Deepak Kumar and when she
did not return even at 1:00PM, his uncle Bijan Kumar Ghosh had
called him up over phone and expressed concern about Rinki
Ghosh having not come back home. His aunt Nilima Ghosh had
called on the mobile of the wife of Deepak Kumar which was
answered by Deepak Kumar, who disclosed that his wife and
children had gone to Ranchi and Rinki Ghosh had come at
11:00AM but had left immediately as her students were not
present. He had, on such information, gone to the house of
Deepak Kumar and thereafter to Kadma P.S. and had also
started searching for Rinki on his personal level. Initially, he had
gone with the family members of Rinki Ghosh to the house of
Deepak Kumar which was found to be locked from outside and
they had once again gone to the house of Deepak Kumar at
around 4-4:30PM when they saw Anand and his brother getting
the lock broken through the help of a locksmith. He and the
others were standing outside while, Anand and his brother after
the lock was broken had entered inside and they came out
distraught and crying and disclosed that the sister and nieces of
Anand have been murdered. They had also disclosed that the
scooty of Rinki Ghosh is lying inside the house. He and the others
thereafter, went inside and saw the dead bodies of the wife and
children of Deepak Kumar as well as the scooty of Rinki Ghosh
and, in the meantime, somebody informed from inside that the
dead body of Rinki Ghosh is lying on the box bed. He and his
family members went inside and found the half-naked dead body
of Rinki Ghosh lying inside the box bed with her hand, mouth
and neck taped with cello-tape. The Police had come and
prepared the inquest report of Rinki Ghosh in which he had
signed as a witness. The Police had also seized the wearing
8|Page
Neutral Citation No. ( 2025:JHHC:12687-DB )
apparels of Rinki Ghosh which included a black jeans and a
panty as well as a blood stained gamcha and a Manforce tablet
for which a seizure list was prepared in which he had signed as
a witness. His signature in the seizure list has been proved and
marked as Exhibit-1.
In cross-examination, he has deposed that he had not
witnessed the murders. His sister was imparting tuition in the
house of Deepak Kumar since 2018. In all these years, Rinki
Ghosh had never made any complaint against Deepak Kumar.
He does not know the motive for the murders.
P.W.5 Nilima Ghosh is the mother of Rinki Ghosh who had
on 12.04.2021 gone to the house of Deepak Kumar at 11:00AM
situated at Kadma Tista Road as the daughter of Deepak Kumar,
namely, Sanvi used to take tuition from her daughter. Rinki
Ghosh used to come back home by 12-12:30PM, but when she
did not return at 1-1:30PM, she called up Veena on her mobile
which was picked up by Deepak Kumar, who disclosed that all
have gone to Ranchi and her daughter had to return back
without completing her tuition. When she expressed her anxiety
to her husband, he started calling up his relatives and enquired
about Rinki. In course of search, she and her family members
had gone to the quarter of Deepak Kumar which was found
locked from outside. When Rinki could not be traced out, they
had gone to the Police Station and explained everything, to which
they were advised that if Rinki Ghosh does not come back by
evening, they should submit a passport size photograph and the
phone number in the Police Station. When they were returning
back to their house, they had once again gone to the quarter of
Deepak Kumar where they found the brother-in-law of Deepak
Kumar and his wife getting the lock broken by a locksmith. She
and the others stood outside while the brother-in-law of Deepak
went inside and immediately started shouting that everyone has
9|Page
Neutral Citation No. ( 2025:JHHC:12687-DB )
been killed. He had also stated that the scooty of Rinki Ghosh
was inside. At this, Tomal Ghosh and Sonu Ghosh entered and
disclosed that the body of Rinki Ghosh has been located and
consequently, she also entered and found the body of her
daughter inside the box bed naked and her hands and neck were
taped.
In cross-examination, she has deposed that her daughter
used to go to the house of Deepak Kumar to teach his daughter.
She had taught the daughter of Deepak Kumar for about two and
a half years. Her daughter had never disclosed any negative
aspect about the family of Deepak Kumar. Her daughter had also
not disclosed about any quarrel between Deepak Kumar and his
wife or children.
P.W.6 Vidya Ghosh is the aunt of Rinki Ghosh who has
stated that on 12.04.2021 at 11:00AM, Rinki Ghosh had gone to
the house of Deepak to teach his daughter and when she did not
return even at 1:30PM, the wife of Deepak was called over phone
which was picked up by Deepak who disclosed that he had sent
his wife and children to Ranchi. He had also stated that Rinki
had come but she was asked to leave as her student was not
present. This information was given to her by her sister-in-law
Nilima Ghosh. Thereafter, she and her family members went to
the house of Deepak Kumar in search of Rinki but the house was
found locked. They had gone to the Police Station where they
were advised to come in the evening with a photograph of Rinki
if she does not return by then. At around 4:00PM, they had once
again gone to the house of Deepak Kumar where they found the
brother-in-law of Deepak and two other persons present and
Anand, the brother-in-law of Deepak was trying to get the lock
broken by another person. After the lock was broken, the
brother-in-law of Deepak went inside and immediately they
started shouting that the dead bodies of the children are lying
10 | P a g e
Neutral Citation No. ( 2025:JHHC:12687-DB )
inside. They also revealed that the scooty of Rinki Ghosh is
parked inside. When somebody from inside stated about the dead
body of the tuition teacher, she and her sister-in-law had entered
the house and saw the dead body of Rinki Ghosh inside the box
bed with tape put around her hand, mouth and neck.
In cross-examination, she has deposed that she and her
sister-in-law reside in the same house. Upon seeing the dead
body of Rinki Ghosh, she had fainted. From the newspaper
reports, she could come to know that it was Deepak who had
committed the murders.
P.W.7 Dr. Lalan Chaudhary was posted as a Professor &
Head of Department of FMT, MGM Medical College, Jamshedpur
and on 13.04.2021, he had conducted autopsy on the dead body
of Veena Kumari and had found the following:
1. Dead body bearing green round neck T-
Shirt- blood stained, sky bra, black
payjama with multi colour print,
cement colour Janghiya. These all are
sealed and handed over to the police.
2. Dead body had semi dark complexion,
average built, abdomen distended,
Eyes proptosed, tongue protruded.
Rigor mortis are absent, decomposing
body. Dried blood and fluid blood over
face, Venous marbling present over
upper half of body. White discharge per
vagina.
3. Following antemortem injuries present
over body:
a. Lacerated wound 3 cm x 2 cm x
cranial cavity deep and 2 cm x 1.5
cm cranial cavity deep over
posterior part of Rt. parietal
region of skull.
b. Abrasions I) 2 cm x 3 cm
over supra sternal notch, II)
3 cm x 2 cm over forehead.
11 | P a g e
Neutral Citation No. ( 2025:JHHC:12687-DB )
c. Both lips ruised.
4. On dissection- Contusion, over
posterior half of scalp. Depressed
fracture 6 cm x 3 cm of right the parietal
bone, membrane ruptured, brain
lacerated and coming out through
fracture site. Whole brain contused and
lacerated. Larynx and tracheal mucosa
congested. Lungs soft and congested.
Viscera congested and soft. Stomach
mucoid fluid-20 ml. Vagina and anal
region examined and found no injuries.
Vaginal and anal swab taken and
preserved, Blood soaked gauze
preserved. Nail clipping of both hand
preserved. Viscera preserved for
chemical analysis.
The cause of death was opined to be on account of head
injury. He has proved the post-mortem report which has been
marked as Exhibit-2.
On 13.04.2021, he had conducted autopsy on the dead
body of Rinki Ghosh and had found the following:
1. Dead body bearing yellow printed top-
blood stained. Bead sheet printed
around waist and lower limbs. Black
bra, Pink Ganjee, brown adhesive tape
around both hand and neck. Examined
and handed over to the police.
2. Dead body had fair complexion,
average built. Rigor mortis absent,
upper half of body swollen,
decomposing body. Venous marbling
present over upper half of body blood
over face and head. face cyanosed,
brown adhesive tape tied around both
hands and separately around neck.
peeling of skin over both upper limbs.
3. Following antemortem injuries present
over body:
A. Bruises
12 | P a g e
Neutral Citation No. ( 2025:JHHC:12687-DB )
a. Both lips all over.
b. 12 cm x 8 cm over Palmer
aspect of right hand.
c. 0.5 cm x 0.5 cm over right
wrist.
d. 21 cm x 11 cm over right
arm.
e. 10 cm x 8 cm over left
forearm.
f. 3 cm x 7 cm over left leg
front just above ankle.
g. 8 cm x 3 cm over over right
side of neck.
h. 3 cm x 2 cm over middle
front of neck.
B. Abrasions
a. 12 cm x 4 cm over forehead.
C. Vaginal area both sides lower
half and posterior part at inner
aspect swab taken and
preserved. of vagina contused.
Vaginal swab taken and
preserved.
D. Anal region contains fecal matter,
no injuries. Anal swab taken and
preserved.
4. On dissection- Whole scalp contused
except left parietal scalp. Whole brain
contused more on right half. Contusion
over right clavicular area 7 cm x 4cm,
right side upper part of neck muscles
and vessels contused. Ventral aspect
of larynx and trachea contused. Larynx
and tracheal mucosa grossly contused.
Stomach contains light yellow thick
fluid 230 ml. Viscera preserved for
chemical analysis. Nail clipping of both
hands done and preserved.
The cause of death was opined to be due to pressure over
neck. Head injury is also sufficient to cause death in ordinary
course of nature. All the injuries have been caused by hard and
13 | P a g e
Neutral Citation No. ( 2025:JHHC:12687-DB )
blunt object. Vaginal injury is caused by forceful penetration of
hard and blunt object prior to death.
He has proved the post-mortem report which has been
marked as Exhibit-3. Injuries over vagina may be caused by the
male genital organ.
P.W.8 Sonu Ghosh is the cousin brother of Rinki Ghosh,
who has stated that on 12.04.2021, Rinki had gone to the house
of Deepak Kumar to impart tuition to the younger daughter of
Deepak Kumar. He had left for his work when at around 1:30PM,
his uncle Bijan Ghosh had called him and disclosed that Rinki
has not yet returned home. His uncle had also disclosed that his
wife had called the wife of Deepak Kumar and the call was picked
up by Deepak Kumar, who had stated that his wife and daughter
had gone to Ranchi and that Rinki had come at 11:00AM but had
left. On receiving this information, he had gone to the house of
his uncle Bijan Ghosh and thereafter he, his uncle Bijan Ghosh,
aunt Nilima Ghosh, another aunt Vidya Ghosh and cousin
brother Tomal Ghosh had gone to the house of Deepak Kumar at
Tista Road, Kadma where they found a lock hanging on the door.
They had thereafter gone to Kadma P.S. where they were advised
to wait till evening and if by that time Rinki Ghosh is not traced
out, they should bring a passport size photograph of Rinki Ghosh
and necessary steps will be taken thereafter. After returning from
Kadma Police Station, they had once again gone to the house of
Deepak Kumar where they saw the brother-in-law of Deepak
Kumar, Anand and his brother getting the lock broken by a
locksmith. After the lock was broken, Anand went inside and
started screaming. Somebody called out from inside that the
scooty of Rinki Ghosh is parked inside. He and his cousin brother
Tomal Ghosh went inside and saw the dead bodies of the children
and the scooty parked besides the bodies. The dead body of the
wife of Deepak Kumar was lying in an adjacent room. In another
14 | P a g e
Neutral Citation No. ( 2025:JHHC:12687-DB )
room adjacent to the kitchen, the dead body of his sister was
found in a box bed lying naked from below the waist with her
mouth, neck and hands tied with tapes. His aunts on witnessing
such scenario, became numb with shock. He later on came to
know from Anand that Deepak Kumar has sold the entire
jewelries of his wife.
In cross-examination, he has deposed that when he had
entered the room, Anand was already present. The top portion of
the body of his sister was covered.
P.W.9 Rajesh Ranjan Parmar has stated that on
12.04.2021 at 4:30PM, his wife had called him and informed that
the wife, children of Deepak Kumar and the tuition teacher have
been murdered. He was on duty at that time and when he
returned home, he found a crowd having gathered in front of the
house of Deepak Kumar and the persons were disclosing that it
was Deepak Kumar who had committed the murders. He had
heard that Deepak had left the house in his motorcycle and had
taken away all the jewelleries with him. His quarter and the
quarter of Deepak Kumar face each other. On 11.04.2021, he
had arranged a small party in his house in which Deepak Kumar
and his family members had come. They had left the party at
10:30PM and on the next day, the incident had occurred.
In cross-examination, he has deposed that he had a cordial
relationship with Deepak Kumar who was a nice person who
could not have committed the murders. Deepak Kumar also had
a cordial relationship with his wife and he also used to take care
of his children. He had not heard that Deepak Kumar had ever
misbehaved with the tuition teacher.
P.W.10 Sangita Kumari is the wife of Rajesh Ranjan
Parmar (P.W.9) who has stated that on 12.04.2021 at 4:30PM,
she had heard some commotion outside and when she came out,
she found the shouting and wailing coming from the house of
15 | P a g e
Neutral Citation No. ( 2025:JHHC:12687-DB )
Deepak Kumar. A crowd had gathered and she also went where
she came to know that the wife, the daughters of Deepak Kumar
and the tuition teacher have been murdered and Deepak Kumar
has fled away with the jewelleries. She had last met Deepak
Kumar on 11.042021 when Deepak Kumar and his family
members had come to his house to participate in a party and
they had left at 10:30PM.
In cross-examination, she has deposed that she had a
friendly relationship with the wife of Deepak Kumar. Deepak
Kumar had a very cordial demeanor and she had never heard
from the wife of Deepak Kumar that she has been assaulted.
P.W.11 Dr. Parmanand Sah was posted as a Tutor in
Department of FMT, MGM Medical College and on 13.04.2021,
he had conducted autopsy on the dead body of Diya Kumari alias
Shrawani Kumari and had found the following:
I) Bruise of size (a) 1½ cm x 1 cm over left
shoulder (b) 2 cm x1 cm over chin (c)
lower lip mucosa whole.
(II) Lacerated wound of size a) 4 cm x 1
cranial cavity deep and 3 cm x 1 cm x
cranial cavity deep adjacent to each
other, över right partial area. b) 3 cm x
1 cm bone deep over occipital area.
III. On dissection of scalp, skull, brain,
scalp is found contused of size a) 13 cm
x 8 cm over occipital area b) 10 cm x 7
cm over right parito area skull bone
have a depressed communited fracture
of size 5 cm x 2 cm.). Brain membrane
is found teared, brain matter is found
lacerated and some parts expelled out
through injury nọ. (ii) (a). Extra dural
and sub dural hemorrhage found over
both hemisphere.
IV. On dissection of chest and abdominal
cavity all viscera are found pale,
stomach contain brownish fluid of
16 | P a g e
Neutral Citation No. ( 2025:JHHC:12687-DB )
almost 50 ml uterus is of small size.
V. On dissection of neck, the tracheal and
laryngeal lumen is found to certain
blood-stained fluid, mucosa is found
congested.
VI. On examination of private part, no any
injuries found in and around vagina
and anus.
The cause of death was opined to be due to above noted
injuries, all of which were anti-mortem in nature caused by hard
and blunt object. He has proved the post-mortem report which
has been marked as Exhibit-4.
On the same day, he had conducted autopsy on the dead
body of Sanvi Kumari and had found the following:
(I) Lacerated wound of size (a) 3 cm x 1½
cm x carnival cavity deep over left
parietal area of head.
(II) Left corner of mouth is found contused.
(III) On dissection of scalp, skull, brain,
scalp is found contused of size 22 cm x
9 cm over left temporo-perito-occipital
area. left parietal bone has depressed
communited fracture of size 5 cm x 5
cm, brain membrane is found teared,
brain matter found lacerated and
expelled out through injury no. (i) over
left half of brain hemisphere, extra
dural hemorrhage present over left
hemisphere and sub dural hemorrhage
found over both hemisphere.
(IV) On dissection of chest and abdominal
cavity all viscera are found pale,
stomach contain scanty mucoid fluid,
uterus is of small size.
(V) On dissection of of neck, the tracheal
and laryngeal lumen is found to HR
contain blood stain fluid, mucosa found
congested.
(VI) On examination of private part, no any
injuries found in and around vagina
17 | P a g e
Neutral Citation No. ( 2025:JHHC:12687-DB )
and anus.
The cause of death was opined to be due to the above noted
injuries, all of which were anti-mortem in nature caused by hard
and blunt object. He has proved the post-mortem report which
has been marked as Exhibit-5.
P.W.12 Aashish Mukhi has stated that on 12.04.2021 at
around 2:30-2:45PM, he was in his house when he suddenly
heard a woman raising a cry of alarm and when he came out, he
saw a 12-13-year-old boy with a bleeding injury on his head and
a woman with a child on her lap who was crying for help. He had
immediately taken out his car and took the boy and the woman
to T.M.H. On the way, the woman disclosed that Deepak Kumar
had committed such injury by means of a hammer. After some
time, another injured person came to whom he had handed over
the injured. He returned back to his house and saw a large crowd
having gathered in front of the house of Deepak Kumar and he
came to know that Deepak Kumar had committed the murder of
his wife, children and the tuition teacher and had fled away. His
house and the house of Deepak Kumar is opposite each other
and is divided by a road and a garden.
In cross-examination, he has deposed that Deepak Kumar
was a nice person and both used to converse regularly.
P.W.13 Prahalad Mukhi has stated that on 12.04.2021 at
2:45PM, he was in his quarter when he heard a female shrieking
at which, his son Aashish Mukhi went out of the house and he
had followed his son. He had seen a boy in front of the house of
Deepak Kumar with blood oozing out from his head and a woman
with a child in her lap shouting. His son Aashish Mukhi took out
the car and had taken the injured boy and the female to TMH
hospital. On returning, a crowd was found gathered in front of
the house of Deepak Kumar and he came to know that Deepak
Kumar has committed the murder of his wife, children and the
18 | P a g e
Neutral Citation No. ( 2025:JHHC:12687-DB )
tuition teacher and had fled away. His house and the house of
Deepak Kumar is situated opposite to each other. While he was
taking the boy to TMH, he had found another injured person who
was pushing Deepak towards the house.
In cross-examination, he has deposed that he does not have
any knowledge about the incident. He knows Deepak Kumar for
the last three years. He never had any quarrel with Deepak
Kumar.
P.W.14 Bodhan Kumar Mahto has stated that on
12.04.2021 at 5:00PM when he came back from the market to
his quarter, he found a crowd having gathered besides Quarter
No. 97/99 and he came to know that Deepak Kumar has
committed the murder of his wife, daughters and the tuition
teacher with a hammer and had fled away with all the jewelleries.
After some time, he came to know that Deepak Kumar had also
injured Roshan Kumar and his brother-in-law with a hammer
and their treatment is going on in TMH.
In cross-examination, he has deposed that he does not have
any knowledge about the occurrence. He has deposed that
Deepak Kumar was a thorough gentleman and he could not have
been involved in committing such offence.
P.W.15 Tapas Pal has stated that on 13.04.2021 at 6:00PM
he had returned from the market to his quarter when he found a
crowd having gathered in front of Quarter No. 97/99 at which,
he joined the crowd and came to know that Deepak Kumar, by
means of a hammer, has committed the murder of his wife,
children and the tuition teacher and after taking the entire
jewelry had fled away. After some time, he came to know that
Roshan Kumar and his brother-in-law have also been injured by
Deepak Kumar and their treatment is going on in TMH.
In cross-examination, he has deposed that he does not have
any knowledge about the incident. Deepak Kumar was a good
19 | P a g e
Neutral Citation No. ( 2025:JHHC:12687-DB )
neighbour and he had never heard any misbehavior on the part
of Deepak Kumar from anyone.
P.W.16 Dr. Rahul Ranjan was posted as a Registrar-cum-
Medical Officer at Tata Main Hospital, Jamshedpur and on
12.04.2021, he had examined Ankit Kumar and had found the
following injuries:
(I).
Deep lacerated wound with exposed
bone over occipital region of size 5 cm x
4 cm x 1 cm.
(II) Weapon used-Hard and blunt object.
Age of injuries less than 24 hrs.
Opinion with respect to the nature of injuries was reserved
as the patient had got admitted in male neurosurgery ward. He
has proved the injury report which has been marked as Exhibit-
6.
On the same day, he had examined Roshan Kumar and had
found the following injury on his person:
(I) Deep lacerated wound of size 5 cm x 3
cm x 2 cm over occipital region.
He has proved the injury report which has been marked as
Exhibit-7.
In cross-examination, he has deposed that injuries inflicted
on Roshan Kumar were simple and can be caused by falling
down.
P.W.17 Prabhu Jee has stated that he is a distant relative
of Deepak Kumar and he had a personal as well as business
relationship with him. Deepak Kumar had a flour mill at the
initial stage but, after some time, his in-laws managed to secure
a job for him in TISCO where he started working in the Fire
Brigade Department. After getting a job, Deepak Kumar started
staying in the company quarter along with his wife and two
daughters. He has stated that his financial condition was not
good and he was planning to sell his Hyva and Deepak Kumar
20 | P a g e
Neutral Citation No. ( 2025:JHHC:12687-DB )
agreed to purchase the same for an amount of Rs.17 lakhs. It
was agreed upon that Rs.7 lakhs would be initially paid by
Deepak Kumar and the rest amount would be deposited in
instalments. Initially, the vehicle was running in his company,
but later on Deepak Kumar gave the vehicle on hire outside.
Deepak Kumar did not pay the instalments nor did he update the
papers. Due to the lockdown, the vehicle remained idle. He has
further stated that Roshan is his nephew and since Deepak
Kumar had negotiated his marriage, Roshan had a family
relationship with Deepak Kumar. On 12.04.2021, Roshan had
called him up on phone and disclosed that Deepak had assaulted
him and his brother-in-law Ankit when they had gone to the
house of Deepak Kumar on being invited for lunch. Ankit has
been seriously injured and he is being taken to TMH. At this
information, he and his friend Sonu had gone to TMH, where he
saw Ankit in a critical condition. Roshan also had an injury on
his head which was got stitched. Roshan had disclosed to him
about the manner in which the incident had taken place. The
mobile phone of Roshan was accidentally left at the house of
Deepak Kumar and his brother-in-law Anand went to bring the
said phone and after about an hour, Anand called him up and
disclosed that Deepak Kumar has committed the murder of his
entire family. Later on, it came to light that the tuition teacher
has also been murdered.
In cross-examination, he has deposed that Deepak Kumar
was never involved in any case earlier. The ownership of the Hyva
still lies with him. Deepak Kumar had a cordial relationship with
his wife and children. Deepak had never had a volatile
relationship with Roshan. He does not know the motive behind
the murder.
P.W.18 Kanhaiya Kumar has stated that on 12.04.2021 at
about 3:30-4:00PM, his brother Anand had called him up and
21 | P a g e
Neutral Citation No. ( 2025:JHHC:12687-DB )
disclosed that the lights and fans in the house of Veena is
running and the quarter is locked from outside. He had also
disclosed that Deepak had called Roshan for lunch and after
assaulting Roshan and his brother-in-law, he has absconded. He
immediately rushed to the said place and saw a locksmith
engaged in breaking open the lock. After the lock was broken, he
and the others present entered inside the quarter and saw in the
box bed, the body of the tuition teacher Rinki Ghosh and in the
two rooms inside, the body of Veena and her two children were
found lying. He has stated that Deepak is his brother-in-law in
relation.
In cross-examination, he has deposed that the body of the
tuition teacher was covered with a blanket. He cannot say the
name of the locksmith who had broken the lock. For 14-15 years,
there had never been any quarrel between Deepak and Veena.
P.W.19 Ramesh Kumar Soni has stated that in Kadma
market, he has a jewelry shop in the name of R.K. Jewelers.
Deepak Kumar was his customer, who had called him up on
12.04.2021 and wanted to know as to when the shop will open
as he needs to sell some articles. On coming to know that the
shop will open at 10:00AM, Deepak Kumar had come at 10:10-
10:15AM with jewelries in a bag which weighed 109 grams and
the total price was quantified at Rs. 4,46,900/-. Although he
wanted to issue a cheque, but Deepak Kumar wanted cash for
which Deepak Kumar was asked to come at 1:00PM. During this
period, Deepak had called him up twice at which, he was
informed that he has managed to collect Rs. 3 lakhs, to which
Deepak Kumar asked him to deposit the balance amount of Rs.
1,46,900/- in his bank account. The Police had come and had
prepared the seizure list of the jewelry which was signed by him
and his brother and which have been proved and marked as
Exhibit-9 and 9/1.
22 | P a g e
Neutral Citation No. ( 2025:JHHC:12687-DB )
P.W.20 Savitri Devi is the mother of Veena Kumari, who
has stated that in the evening of 12.042021, her son Binod
Kumar Sahu had called her over phone and stated that the
quarter of Veena is locked from outside and AC, fans are running
inside. Deepak had fled away after committing assault upon
Roshan and his brother-in-law. She thereafter, went to the
quarter of her daughter along with her husband where she saw
a locksmith trying to break open the lock. When after the lock
was broken, she went inside and found her daughter in a pool of
blood and in the other room the dead bodies of her
granddaughters were seen lying along with the scooty of the
tuition teacher. On a search being made for the tuition teacher,
her body was found beneath the box bed in a naked condition.
Deepak had anger issues and in trivial matters, he used to
become furious. Her daughter has disclosed that Deepak
quarreled with her.
In cross-examination she has deposed that Deepak used to
love his daughters more than his life. She does not know as to
why Deepak had committed such a heinous crime. The Police
had arrived at the scene later on. She had not seen the dead body
of Rinki Ghosh.
P.W.21 Rajesh Kumar Ranjan was posted as an Assistant
Sub-Inspector of Police in Sakchi P.S. and on 12.04.2021, on the
orders of his superior authority, he and his team had reached
Quarter No. 99, Tista Road, Kadma which was the place of
occurrence of Kadma P.S. Case No. 67/21. A photography was
done of the place of occurrence. On 13.04.2021, a team had come
from the Directorate of Forensic Science Laboratory, who had
conducted an enquiry and collected evidence. The photograph of
the place of occurrence was taken out from the printer in Sakchi
P.S. and 34 photographs were produced before Kadma P.S. which
resulted in preparation of a seizure list which has been marked
23 | P a g e
Neutral Citation No. ( 2025:JHHC:12687-DB )
as Exhibit-10. The photocopies were produced before the Officer-
in-Charge Kadma P.S. which has been marked as Exhibit-11. All
the photographs have been proved and marked as Exhibit-12. A
report of the evidence collected by the team from Directorate of
Forensic Science Laboratory, Ranchi was prepared and produced
before the Officer-in-charge of Kadma P.S. which has been
proved and marked as Exhibit-13.
In cross-examination, he has deposed that he had not gone
through the First Information Report. He had learned about the
occurrence. The photographs were not edited.
P.W.22 Dr. Jevesh Mallik was posted as a Consultant
Neuro Surgeon in TMH and on 12.04.2021, Ankit Kumar was
admitted in H.D.U. and CT scan of brain was done, which showed
multiple fractures in right parietal and occipital bone along with
underlying bone contusion. He was operated upon and the
fractured segments which had pierced the bone were taken out.
The injuries sustained over head is grievous in nature. He has
proved the injury report which has been marked as Exhibit-14.
In cross-examination, he has deposed that he cannot say
as to whether the injuries were homicidal or accidental.
P.W.23. Anand Kumar Sahu is the informant and the
brother of Veena Kumari, who has stated that the marriage of his
sister was solemnized with Deepak Kumar in November, 2004
and out of the said wedlock, they were blessed with two children.
Deepak Kumar and his wife and two daughters used to live in
Quarter No. 99, Kadma-Tista Road. The incident is of 12.04.2021
and as he was going home at around 2:30-3:00PM to have lunch,
his wife Jai Shree Sahu had called him on phone and disclosed
that Roshan had called her and confided in her that Deepak
Kumar had invited Roshan and his family for lunch and when
they reached, Deepak Kumar had all of a sudden started
committing assault with a hammer upon Roshan and his
24 | P a g e
Neutral Citation No. ( 2025:JHHC:12687-DB )
brother-in-law at which, both were grievously injured and had
gone to TMH, Bistupur for treatment. He immediately rushed to
his house from where he picked his wife Jai Shree Sahu and both
left for TMH. On reaching TMH, he found Roshan and his
brother-in-law Ankit seriously injured and treatment was going
on. Ankit was unconscious and he had an injury on his head.
Roshan was in a position to speak and he had taken information
about the incident from Roshan. Roshan had disclosed that in
the morning, Deepak had called him and invited him and his
family for lunch at his residence. Roshan and his wife as well as
his infant daughter along with Ankit, the brother-in-law of Roshan
had gone to the house of Deepak Kumar, but since the infant had
soiled the lap of Roshan Kumar, she was taken to the washroom
for cleaning her. Ankit was sitting on the sofa and playing games
on his mobile and all of a sudden Deepak Kumar gave a hammer
blow on the head of Ankit who raised a cry of alarm at which,
Roshan Kumar came out from the washroom and saw Deepak
Kumar assaulting Ankit on his head with a hammer. When
Roshan Kumar intervened, he was also assaulted by Deepak
Kumar with the hammer. Roshan Kumar somehow managed to
come out of the house with his family and with the assistance of
a neighbor, he was taken to TMH for treatment. He, on hearing
the entire episode from Roshan Kumar in the hospital, called up
his brother Binod Kumar and disclosed to him about the
happenings. At this Binod Kumar came to TMH and asked about
the condition of Roshan and Ankit. Binod Kumar then disclosed
that on 12.04.2021 at 10:00AM, Deepak Kumar had come to his
house and had taken away the jewellery kept in his house on the
pretext that the same will be kept in a bank locker. The jewelries
belonged to his sister Veena Kumari. Since there was an attempt
to commit theft in the house of Deepak Kumar, all the jewelleries
were kept in the house of Binod Kumar by Deepak Kumar and
25 | P a g e
Neutral Citation No. ( 2025:JHHC:12687-DB )
his sister for safe custody. Binod had also disclosed that Deepak
had confided in him that he had sent his wife and daughter to
Ranchi to his elder sister's place and will bring them back after
two days. This disclosure aroused a suspicion in his mind as to
how Roshan and his family were invited for lunch when the
family of Deepak Kumar were not present. He, therefore, decided
to go to the residence of Deepak Kumar along with his wife Jai
Shree Sahu and brother Binod Kumar. Roshan had asked him
to bring his mobile with him which had fallen down in the house
of Deepak Kumar at the time of the scuffle. When they reached
the house of Deepak Kumar at 4:00PM, they found both the gates
locked. Deepak had two quarters, Quarter No. 97 and Quarter
No. 99 which were adjacent to each other and the lights fans and
air conditioners were running inside. When they called out the
name of his sister and her two children, no reply came from
inside. The neighbours had disclosed about the scuffle between
Deepak Kumar and his friend and when they were being taken
to the hospital, Deepak Kumar also followed them in his Bullet
motorcycle saying that he is going to TMH for their treatment. In
the meantime, the family members of the tuition teacher Rinki
Ghosh had also arrived at the said place. The family members of
Rinki Ghosh had disclosed that she had come to impart tuition
in the house of Deepak Kumar at 11:00-11:30AM, but she has
not yet returned home. They had called up in the mobile of Veena
which was picked up by Deepak Kumar who had disclosed that
Veena and the children have gone to Ranchi and he had sent
back Rinki Ghosh. He had called a locksmith who managed to
break open the lock of Quarter No. 97 and when he entered, he
found a pool of blood in the first room. When he went to the
kitchen, he found things scattered with specks of blood in the
floor. Through the kitchen, they went to Quarter No. 99 where
the door was found locked. When he heard a cry of alarm, he
26 | P a g e
Neutral Citation No. ( 2025:JHHC:12687-DB )
came out of Quarter No. 97 and went to Quarter No. 99, where
he saw both his nieces lying dead in the bed. On going to the
other room, he found the dead body of his sister on the bed. In
the room in which the dead body of his nieces were found, the
scooty of the tuition teacher was also located therein. This raised
a suspicion in the mind of those present and they started
searching for Rinki Ghosh and in Quarter No. 97, the body of
Rinki Ghosh in a semi-nude condition was recovered from a box
bed. The incident was informed to Kadma P.S. and after 10
minutes, the Police personnel from Kadma P.S. reached the place
of occurrence. He has identified his signature in the written
report which has been marked as Exhibit- P-1/PW23. He has
also identified his signature in the seizure list of seized cello tape,
lock etc. which has been marked as Exhibit-P-2/ PW23. He has
also proved his signature on the inquest report of Veena Kumari,
Divya Kumari and Sanvi Kumari which have been marked as X,
X/1 and X/2 for identification.
In cross-examination, he has deposed that he does not
know the name of the locksmith. When he and the others had
entered inside the house, there were 50-100 persons present
though he does not know their names. There used to be regular
parties in the house of Deepak Kumar along with the relatives.
On 11.04.2021, he had consumed liquor in the house of Deepak
Kumar. The behaviour of Deepak on 11.04.2021 was normal.
Prior to the incident, Deepak Kumar had never tried to extend
bodily injury to anyone. It is true that he was the closest
companion of Deepak Kumar and Deepak Kumar used to confide
in him everything. Deepak Kumar used to adore his daughters.
P.W.24 Manoj Kumar Thakur was posted as an Officer-in-
charge of Kadma P.S. and on 12.04.2021 at 4:30PM, he received
a telephonic information that an incident had occurred at
Quarter No. 99 in Kadma Tista Road. After making a station diary
27 | P a g e
Neutral Citation No. ( 2025:JHHC:12687-DB )
entry, he proceeded with the other Police personnel to the place
of occurrence. A large crowd had gathered at the place of
occurrence. On going inside the house, he found the semi-nude
body of Rinki Ghosh in a box-bed in the room beside the drawing
room and in another room, the body of Veena Devi was lying,
while in the adjacent room the dead body of Diya Kumari and
Sanvi Kumari were found. The persons present there and the
relatives of Veena Kumari and Rinki Ghosh had disclosed that
Deepak Kumar, after having committed such heinous crime, had
absconded and he had also taken away the ornaments of Veena
Kumari. On the direction of the superior authority, the other
Police personnel had also reached the spot and the District
Forensic Team had also arrived and photographs of the place of
occurrence as well as the dead bodies were taken. The inquest
report and the dead body chalans were prepared and the bodies
were sent for post-mortem to MGM Hospital. He has stated that
on 13.04.2021, the written report of the informant Anand Kumar
Sahu was recorded on the basis of which Kadma P.S. Case No.
67/21 was registered and he had himself taken over the
investigation. He has proved the endorsement which is in his
handwriting and bears his signature which has been marked as
Exhibit P1/1/PW24. The formal FIR has been proved and
marked as P-3/PW24. The photocopies of the inquest reports of
Veena Devi, Diya Kumari and Sanvi Kumari have been marked
as Y, Y/1 and Y/2 respectively. The photocopy of the inquest
report of Rinki Ghosh has been marked as Y/3. He had recorded
the restatement of the informant and have inspected the place of
occurrence. The place of occurrence is at Tista Road where on
both sides, quarters of TISCO have been constructed. The
occurrence has taken place at Quarter No. 97-99. There is an
iron gate for entrance and on entry there is a courtyard. On
crossing the courtyard, there is a grill installed in the quarters
28 | P a g e
Neutral Citation No. ( 2025:JHHC:12687-DB )
with two iron doors on both sides. On entering inside, there is a
veranda and on entering through the door on the eastern side,
there is a dining room. Adjacent to the dining room is another
room from where the dead body of Rinki Ghosh was recovered
from a box bed. Besides the kitchen is a 10feet x10feet room and
in this room, in a cot the dead body of Veena Devi was located.
There is another room adjacent to this room on the northern side
and in this room, the dead bodies of the two daughters of Deepak
Kumar found lying in a pool of blood were located. The scooty of
Rinki Ghosh was also found in the same room. He has proved
the seizure list of seized Manforce wrapper with one tablet being
used, a Hero Motocorp Duet scooty white color, three mobile
phones, one broken mobile phone in the kitchen, one ladies black
cotton jeans, one brown colour panty, hairs of a female locked in
jeans pant etc. which has been marked as Exhibit P-4/PW24. He
had recorded the statements of Binod Kumar Sahu, Ashish
Mukhi, Savitri Devi, Prahalad Mukhi, Sonu Ghosh, Roshan
Kumar and Tamal Ghosh. The seizure list prepared by Sri Ajay
Kumar, Forensic Specialist has been marked as Exhibit P-
5/PW24. For obtaining the location and other technical aspects
of the mobile phones of Deepak Kumar, Veena Kumari, Roshan
Kumar and Aradhya Kumari, an application was submitted.
From the mobile number of Deepak Kumar, it came to light that
on 12.04.2021, he had conversed three times with the holder of
mobile number 9031299030. The said mobile belonged to
Ramesh Kumar Soni, who had disclosed that Deepak Kumar and
his wife used to purchase ornaments from his shop. On 12-
04.2021, Deepak Kumar had called Ramesh Kumar Soni and
expressed his urgency to sell ornaments to him. The purchase
price was fixed at Rs. 4,46,900/- and Ramesh Kumar Soni had
made arrangements and had handed over Rs. 3 lakhs to Deepak
Kumar and the balance amount was to be deposited in the
29 | P a g e
Neutral Citation No. ( 2025:JHHC:12687-DB )
account of the younger brother of Deepak Kumar. Deepak Kumar
was looking very agitated and he was speaking of going
somewhere. Ramesh Kumar Soni had produced 69 grams of gold
jewelry which was unsold by him and the same were seized and
the seizure list has been proved and marked as Exhibit- P-6/
PW24. Considering the sensational nature of the case, a Special
Investigation Team was constituted under the leadership of Dy.
S.P. (Headquarters-II). The statements of Vidya Ghosh, Nilima
Ghosh, Sangita Parmar and Rajesh Ranjan Parmar were
recorded. He had also recorded the statements of Kanhaiya
Kumar, Tapas Pal, Bodhan Kumar Mahto and Prabhu Jee alias
Prabhusah. He has stated that with the assistance of Dhanbad
Police, Deepak Kumar was arrested from Hirapur, Dhanbad. The
brother of Deepak Kumar, namely, Mrityunjay Kumar Sahu had
stated over phone that in his account in HDFC Bank, an amount
of Rs. 1,50,000/- has been deposited. After arresting Deepak
Kumar, he was searched and from his possession, Rs. 97,000/-
in cash, a PAN card, a bank deposit, receipt dated 16.04.2021, a
deposit form dated 16.04.2021, Rs. 3,940/- cash from his
trouser, a mobile of Redmi and a Fasttrack wrist watch were
recovered and seized and the seizure list has been marked as
Exhibit P-7/PW24. On a search conducted in Room No. 101,
Surya Hotel, Dhanbad, where Deepak Kumar stayed, a backpack
of Skybag containing various articles were seized and a seizure
list was prepared which has been marked as Exhibit-P-8/PW24.
The Bullet motorcycle which was used in the accused fleeing
away was seized from Plant side P.S. at Raurkela and the seizure
list has been proved and marked as Exhibit-P-9/PW24. After the
accused was arrested, he was brought from Dhanbad to Kadma
P.S., where his detailed confessional statement was recorded. On
the basis of the confessional statement, the leftover of the cello-
tape coil, the knife used in the murder, the key of the lock of the
30 | P a g e
Neutral Citation No. ( 2025:JHHC:12687-DB )
grill were recovered from near the place of occurrence. A seizure
list was prepared of the recovered articles which has been
marked as Exhibit-P-10/PW24. The investigation was conducted
on the basis of the confessional statement of the accused in
which he had stated about the inspiration he received from the
web series 'Pataal Lok' and 'Asur' which he watched repeatedly
and even before committing the murders, he had watched those
web series. The confessional statement of the accused has been
proved and marked as Exhibit-P-11/PW24. He had recorded the
statement of Ankit Kumar, who had supported the occurrence.
He had obtained the post-mortem report. He has proved the
seizure list of the blood samples taken from the accused, Roshan
Kumar and Ankit Kumar which has been marked as Exhibit-P-
13/PW24. The forwarding letter of the samples of blood has been
marked as Exhibit-P-14/PW24. The application to the Court
seeking permission to send the seized articles to the Forensic
Science Laboratory has been marked as Exhibit P-15/ PW24. The
receipt of the Forensic Science Laboratory has been marked as
Exhibit-P-16/PW24. On completion of investigation, he has
submitted charge sheet. The inquest reports have been proved
and marked as Exhibit P-17/PW24, P-18/PW24, P-19/PW24
and P-20/PW24.
In cross-examination, he has deposed that before he had
reached the place of occurrence, the others had broken the lock
and had entered inside. There was no witness who had seen the
occurrence. The accused had a cordial relationship with his wife
and children. He had not got examined the accused, by a
psychiatrist.
P.W.25 Sudhir Kumar Yadav was posted as a Sub-
Inspector of Police at Kadma P.S., who has proved the chalan of
the articles produced in Court which has been marked as
Exhibit-P-24/PW25. The articles seized have been produced in
31 | P a g e
Neutral Citation No. ( 2025:JHHC:12687-DB )
Court which have been marked as material exhibits.
In cross-examination, he has deposed that the material
exhibits were not collected in his presence. He does not have any
knowledge of the case.
5. The accused was examined under Section 313 Cr.P.C. in
which he has denied his complicity in the murders.
6. It has been submitted by Mr. Chandrajit Mukherjee,
learned counsel for the appellant Deepak Kumar that admittedly
there are no eyewitnesses to the occurrence and merely on the
basis of some circumstantial evidence, the appellant has been
convicted. In fact, the appellant, as per the evidence of the
witnesses, was a caring husband for his wife and a doting father
to his daughters. Even the in-laws of the appellant have failed to
cite a single instance which would lead to a conclusion that there
was a fractured relationship between the appellant and his wife.
It has been submitted that the appellant had given suitable
explanation in his 313 Cr.P.C. statement, but the same has not
been properly appreciated by the learned trial court. Learned
counsel has submitted that the case does not come within the
purview of "rarest of rare" cases and the aggravating and
mitigating circumstances have not been appropriately dealt with
by the learned trial court and even if the appellant is proved
guilty, his sentence should be reduced.
7. Mr. Vineet Kumar Vashishtha, learned Special P.P. has
submitted that the circumstantial evidence on record proves the
brutal manner in which the appellant had committed the
murders of his entire family members as well as the tuition
teacher who had unknowingly entered into the house oblivious
to the mayhem unleashed by the appellant. Such dastardly act,
as per the learned Special P.P., do not deserve any sympathy and
the learned trial court was correct in imposing the maximum
sentence upon the appellant.
32 | P a g e
Neutral Citation No. ( 2025:JHHC:12687-DB )
8. We have heard the learned counsel for the respective sides
and have also perused the trial court records.
9. A tranquil neighborhood turned into a site of mayhem when
four dead bodies were discovered, brutally murdered with
hammer and knife. It all started when a call was made by P.W.2
to the wife of the informant, informing her about the brutal
assault committed by the appellant upon P.W.2 and his brother-
in-law (P.W.3). This information led to a flurry of activities with
the informant rushing to the house of the appellant and finding
it locked from outside with the air conditioners and fans running.
The arrival of the family members of the tuition teacher, who had
come in search of her put a seed of suspicion in the mind of the
informant. A locksmith was called and after the lock was broken,
the informant and some other persons who had gathered, had
entered and the enormity of the situation slowly unfolded. The
bodies of the nieces of the informant were found in one room,
while the body of the wife of the appellant was found in another
room where the scooty of the tuition teacher was also found
parked. On a further search, the body of the tuition teacher in a
half-naked condition was recovered from inside a box bed. P.W.2
and P.W.3 had a providential escape, especially P.W.3 who was
brutally assaulted on the head with a hammer. The inspiration
of such grotesque murder as per the case of the prosecution
based on the confessional statement of the appellant were the
web series 'Pataal Lok' and 'Asur'. The weapons used in the
murders were knife and hammer which finds corroboration from
the post-mortem reports. P.W.2 and P.W.3 are witnesses and
victims to the second part of the assault and it can be evinced
from their testimony that they did not have any inkling of the
crime already committed by the appellant; such was the
meticulous planning carried out by the appellant. The defence
though has highlighted the cordial relationship existing between
33 | P a g e
Neutral Citation No. ( 2025:JHHC:12687-DB )
the appellant and his family members including the in-laws as
well as the neighbours but has failed to project any other angle
which would dissipate the singular involvement of the appellant
in committing such murders. No doubt, it is true that there are
no eyewitnesses to the murders but at the same time we cannot
lose sight of the fact that the only other person present in the
house apart from the deceased family members was the appellant
himself. There are strong circumstantial evidence emanating
from the testimonies of P.W.1, P.W.2, P.W.3, P.W.4, P.W.6, P.W.8
and P.W.23. These witnesses include the in-laws of the
appellants and the relatives of Rinki Ghosh, the teacher of the
younger daughter of the appellant. All have been consistent in
their evidence projecting the circumstances which convincingly
and unerringly point to the guilt of the appellant. The relatives of
Rinki Ghosh had stated that when she did not return, a call was
made on the mobile of the wife of the appellant which was picked
up by the appellant who disclosed that his wife and children have
left for Ranchi and, therefore, Rinki Ghosh had also left without
giving tuition to the younger daughter of the appellant. The post-
mortem reports divulge the brutality of the assault which is in
consonance with the allegation of assault. On the confessional
statement of the appellant, the knife used in the murder, the cello
tapes for tying up Rinki Kumari were also recovered. Another
added feature of the case which makes it all the more
reprehensible is the commission of rape upon Rinki Kumari, the
violent nature of the crime being quantified by the medical report.
The forensic report of the cello tape reveals thus:
Conclusion:- It is, therefore, concluded that the
brown color cello tape with coil marked
"M+,"and the bunch of twelve cutting
pieces of brown color cello-tape marked
"Ye1 to Ye12" (recovered by the Doctor
of MGM hospital Jamshedpur from the
34 | P a g e
Neutral Citation No. ( 2025:JHHC:12687-DB )
neck and hand of deceased
prosecutrix) were found to be similar
with each other:
The rape committed upon Rinki Kumari is further fortified
by the conclusion arrived at by the Forensic Science Laboratory
after DNA profiling which reads as under:
1. The male DNA profile generated from
the source of the exhibit marked-A1(
Source: Blood positive gauze piece
cuttings said to be of Deepak Kumar) is
found to be present in the mixed DNA
profile generated from the source of
exhibit marked-5Ga(, Source: Blood
negative and semen positive cloth piece
cuttings.)
2. The female DNA profile generated
from the source of the exhibit
marked-Y1 (Source: Blood positive
gauze piece cuttings said to be of
prosecutrix) and the male DNA
profile generated from the source
of the exhibit marked- A1 (Source:
Blood positive gauze piece cuttings
said to be of Deepak Kumar) are
found to be present in mixed DNA
profile generated from the source
of the exhibit marked-5Ch (Source:
Blood and semen positive gamcha
cuttings.)
3. The female DNA profile generated
from the source of the exhibit
marked-Y1 (Source: Blood positive
gauze piece cuttings said to be of
prosecutrix) and the male DNA
profile generated from the source
of the exhibit marked-AI (Source:
Blood positive gauze piece cuttings
said to be of Deepak Kumar) are
found to be present in mixed DNA
profile generated from the source
35 | P a g e
Neutral Citation No. ( 2025:JHHC:12687-DB )
of the exhibit marked-5Cha1
(Source: Blood and semen negative
jeans pant cuttings.)
6. The female DNA profile generated
from the source of the exhibit
marked-Y1 (Source: Blood positive
gauze piece cuttings said to be of
prosecutrix) is found to be present
in mixed DNA profile generated
from the source of the exhibit
marked-5Cha2 (Source: Blood and
semen positive panty cuttings.)
10. The evidence of the witnesses, the post-mortem report as
well as the DNA profile generated from various sources for the
purposes of profiling unequivocally point to the guilt of the
appellant in committing an act which is bereft of any human
sanity and sensitivity and can be termed to be an act of grotesque
depravity. The order of conviction passed by the learned trial
court is legally sustainable which is based on an appropriate
factual dissection of the evidence on record and we, accordingly,
affirm the same.
11. The aforesaid findings recorded by us brings us to the
question of the legality or otherwise of the imposition of capital
sentence upon the appellant.
12. Before venturing into a threadbare analysis of the
mitigating and aggravating circumstances, it would be necessary
to consider some of the judgments of the Hon'ble Supreme Court
on capital punishment.
13. In Machhi Singh v. State of Punjab reported in (1983) 3
SCC 470, it was held as follows:
"32. The reasons why the community
as a whole does not endorse the humanistic
approach reflected in "death sentence-in-no-
case" doctrine are not far to seek. In the first
place, the very humanistic edifice is
constructed on the foundation of "reverence
36 | P a g e
Neutral Citation No. ( 2025:JHHC:12687-DB )
for life" principle. When a member of the
community violates this very principle by
killing another member, the society may not
feel itself bound by the shackles of this
doctrine. Secondly, it has to be realized that
every member of the community is able to
live with safety without his or her own life
being endangered because of the protective
arm of the community and on account of the
rule of law enforced by it. The very existence
of the rule of law and the fear of being
brought to book operates as a deterrent for
those who have no scruples in killing others
if it suits their ends. Every member of the
community owes a debt to the community for
this protection. When ingratitude is shown
instead of gratitude by "killing" a member of
the community which protects the murderer
himself from being killed, or when the
community feels that for the sake of self-
preservation the killer has to be killed, the
community may well withdraw the
protection by sanctioning the death penalty.
But the community will not do so in every
case. It may do so "in rarest of rare cases"
when its collective conscience is so shocked
that it will expect the holders of the judicial
power centre to inflict death penalty
irrespective of their personal opinion as
regards desirability or otherwise of retaining
death penalty. The community may
entertain such a sentiment when the crime is
viewed from the platform of the motive for, or
the manner of commission of the crime, or the
anti-social or abhorrent nature of the crime,
such as for instance:
I. Manner of commission of murder
33. When the murder is committed in
an extremely brutal, grotesque, diabolical,
revolting or dastardly manner so as to
arouse intense and extreme indignation of
37 | P a g e
Neutral Citation No. ( 2025:JHHC:12687-DB )
the community. For instance,
(i) when the house of the victim is set
aflame with the end in view to roast
him alive in the house.
(ii) when the victim is subjected to
inhuman acts of torture or cruelty in
order to bring about his or her death.
(iii) when the body of the victim is cut
into pieces or his body is dismembered
in a fiendish manner.
II. Motive for commission of murder
34. When the murder is committed for
a motive which evinces total depravity and
meanness. For instance when (a) a hired
assassin commits murder for the sake of
money or reward (b) a cold-blooded murder
is committed with a deliberate design in
order to inherit property or to gain control
over property of a ward or a person under
the control of the murderer or vis-a-vis whom
the murderer is in a dominating position or
in a position of trust, or (c) a murder is
committed in the course for betrayal of the
motherland.
III. Anti-social or socially abhorrent
nature of the crime
35. (a) When murder of a member of a
Scheduled Caste or minority community etc.,
is committed not for personal reasons but in
circumstances which arouse social wrath.
For instance when such a crime is committed
in order to terrorize such persons and
frighten them into fleeing from a place or in
order to deprive them of, or make them
surrender, lands or benefits conferred on
them with a view to reverse past injustices
and in order to restore the social balance.
(b) In cases of "bride burning" and
what are known as "dowry deaths" or
when murder is committed in order to
remarry for the sake of extracting
38 | P a g e
Neutral Citation No. ( 2025:JHHC:12687-DB )
dowry once again or to marry another
woman on account of infatuation.
IV. Magnitude of crime
36. When the crime is enormous in
proportion. For instance when multiple
murders say of all or almost all the members
of a family or a large number of persons of a
particular caste, community, or locality, are
committed.
V. Personality of victim of murder
37. When the victim of murder is (a) an
innocent child who could not have or has not
provided even an excuse, much less a
provocation, for murder (b) a helpless
woman or a person rendered helpless by
old age or infirmity (c) when the victim is a
person vis-a-vis whom the murderer is in a
position of domination or trust (d) when the
victim is a public figure generally loved and
respected by the community for the services
rendered by him and the murder is
committed for political or similar reasons
other than personal reasons.
38. In this background the guidelines
indicated in Bachan Singh case1 will have to
be culled out and applied to the facts of each
individual case where the question of
imposing of death sentence arises. The
following propositions emerge from Bachan
Singh case1:
"(i) The extreme penalty of death need
not be inflicted except in gravest cases
of extreme culpability.
(ii) Before opting for the death penalty
the circumstances of the 'offender' also
require to be taken into consideration
along with the circumstances of the
'crime'.
(iii) Life imprisonment is the rule and
death sentence is an exception. In other
39 | P a g e
Neutral Citation No. ( 2025:JHHC:12687-DB )
words death sentence must be
imposed only when life imprisonment
appears to be an altogether inadequate
punishment having regard to the
relevant circumstances of the crime,
and provided, and only provided, the
option to impose sentence of
imprisonment for life cannot be
conscientiously exercised having
regard to the nature and circumstances
of the crime and all the relevant
circumstances.
(iv) A balance sheet of aggravating and
mitigating circumstances has to be
drawn up and in doing so the
mitigating circumstances have to be
accorded full weightage and a just
balance has to be struck between the
aggravating and the mitigating
circumstances before the option is
exercised.
39. In order to apply these guidelines
inter alia the following questions may be
asked and answered:
(a) Is there something uncommon about
the crime which renders sentence of
imprisonment for life inadequate and
calls for a death sentence?
(b) Are the circumstances of the crime
such that there is no alternative but to
impose death sentence even after
according maximum weightage to the
mitigating circumstances which speak
in favour of the offender?"
14. In the case of Khushwinder Singh v. State of Punjab
reported in (2019) 4 SCC 415, it has been held thus:
"14. Now, so far as the capital
punishment imposed by the learned
Sessions Court and confirmed by the High
Court is concerned, at the outset, it is
required to be noted that, as such, the
40 | P a g e
Neutral Citation No. ( 2025:JHHC:12687-DB )
learned counsel appearing on behalf of the
accused is not in a position to point out any
mitigating circumstance which warrants
commutation of death sentence to the life
imprisonment. In the present case, the
accused has killed six innocent persons, out
of which two were minors -- below 10 years
of age. Almost, all the family members of PW
5 were done to death in a diabolical and
dastardly manner. Fortunately, or
unfortunately, only one person of the family
of PW 5 could survive. In the present case,
the accused has killed six innocent persons
in a pre-planned manner. The convict
meticulously planned the time. He first
kidnapped three persons by way of
deception and took them to the canal and
after drugging them with sleeping tablets,
pushed them in the canal at midnight to
ensure that the crime is not detected. That,
thereafter he killed another three persons in
the second stage/instalment. Therefore,
considering the law laid down by this Court
in Mukesh v. State (NCT of Delhi), the case
would fall in the category of the "rarest of
rare case" warranting death
sentence/capital punishment. The
aggravating circumstances are in favour of
the prosecution and against the accused.
Therefore, striking a balance between the
aggravating and mitigating circumstances,
we are of the opinion that the aggravating
circumstance would tilt the balance in favour
of capital punishment. In the facts and
circumstances of the case, we are of the
opinion that there is no alternative
punishment suitable, except the death
sentence. The crime is committed with
extremist brutality and the collective
conscience of the society would be shocked.
Therefore, we are of the opinion that the
capital punishment/death sentence
imposed by the learned Sessions Court and
confirmed by the High Court does not
warrant any interference by this Court.
Therefore, we confirm the death sentence of
the accused imposed by the learned
41 | P a g e
Neutral Citation No. ( 2025:JHHC:12687-DB )
Sessions Court and confirmed by the High
Court while convicting the appellant for the
offence punishable under Section 302 IPC."
15. In Dhananjoy Chatterjee @ Dhana v. State of West
Bengal reported in (1994) 2 SCC 220, it has been held as
follows:
"15. In our opinion, the measure of
punishment in a given case must depend
upon the atrocity of the crime; the conduct of
the criminal and the defenceless and
unprotected state of the victim. Imposition of
appropriate punishment is the manner in
which the courts respond to the society's cry
for justice against the criminals. Justice
demands that courts should impose
punishment befitting the crime so that the
courts reflect public abhorrence of the crime.
The courts must not only keep in view the
rights of the criminal but also the rights of
the victim of crime and the society at large
while considering imposition of appropriate
punishment."
16. The mitigating circumstances, as projected by the learned
counsel for the appellant, are that the appellant is a young
person who was socially acceptable with no penchant for crime
as his past records would suggest, the remorse he has shown
after committing the murders and that the murders were
committed as a consequence to the strained business
relationship, he was having with P.W.2. The appellant doted on
his children, took care of his wife, had a cordial relationship with
his in-laws, with even the relatives of Rinki Ghosh admitting
about not hearing any negative aspect about the appellant and
was a friend in distress which can be fathomed from the evidence
of P.W.2 which depicts how in the aftermath of P.W.2
solemnizing marriage without the consent of his family members
was given shelter in his house.
17. The aggravating circumstances divulges the meticulous
planning adopted by the appellant in eliminating his family,
42 | P a g e
Neutral Citation No. ( 2025:JHHC:12687-DB )
though his attempts to get rid of P.W.2 and P.W.3 failed purely
due to providence, but at the same time, such brutal assault on
the head of P.W.3 would have left a permanent scar on the mental
and physical health of P.W.3. It is established beyond doubt that
P.W.2 was invited with his family members to lunch by the
appellant after he had already wiped out his family and
committed rape and murder upon the chance victim Rinki
Ghosh. The cold-blooded manner in which such devious plan
was executed speaks of the ruthless nature of the appellant and
absence of any empathy in his conduct. The appellant had
brought the scooty of Rinki Ghosh inside a bedroom to quell any
questions about its presence in front of the house of the appellant
and after committing the rape and murder of Rinki Ghosh, had
caused disappearance of evidence by putting the body in a box
bed. This also seems to be the fruit of a well-thought-out plan as
her hands and mouth were taped with cello tape and the FSL
report corroborates such act on the part of the appellant. As we
have noticed above, the FSL report ascertains about the rape
committed by the appellant upon Rinki Ghosh and the violent
manner of rape can be fathomed from the post-mortem report
which assessed injuries found on the vagina of the deceased
Rinki Ghosh. Not only does the diabolical mind of the appellant
operated prior to the incident of murder and the injuries caused
to P.W.2 and P.W.3 but it resurrected itself even after such
violence had come to an end. The appellant, after locking the
door, had followed P.W.2 and P.W.3 while they were being taken
to TMH for treatment, but the sympathetic behaviour shown
towards P.W.2 soon evaporated as the appellant veered off to a
different direction in his Bullet motorcycle. In the intervening
period between the murder and the arrival of P.W.2 for lunch,
the appellant had gone to the house of P.W.1 at 10:00AM and on
the pretext of arranging a locker, had taken away the jewelleries
43 | P a g e
Neutral Citation No. ( 2025:JHHC:12687-DB )
of his wife. These jewelleries ended up in the shop of P.W.19,
where they were sold and a part amount was received and a part
amount was transferred in the account of the brother of the
appellant Mrityunjay Kr. Sahu. The appellant was finally
apprehended from Dhanbad. The entire sequence, as enunciated
above, is with the object to highlight the calm and composed
manner in which the appellant executed his plan of eliminating
his family members and the dubious way in which he planned
his escape. Although, almost all the witnesses have stated about
the cordial relationship existing between the appellant and his
wife, but such consistency has been marred by the revelation
made by P.W.20, the mother of the deceased Veena Devi that the
appellant had anger issues and used to became furious on trivial
matters and appellant also used to quarrel with Veena Devi. The
disclosure of a daughter to her mother would gain natural
elevation over all other views and such fact would run counter to
the mitigating circumstances projected by the defence.
18. The aggravating circumstances far outweighs the mitigating
circumstances and on an overall conspectus of the case, the
learned trial court was justified in awarding the capital
punishment to the appellant. We, endorse the view adopted by
the learned trial court and come to a conclusion that the case
comes in the category of "rarest of rare" cases and it would be a
travesty to the society if in the context of such horrendous act of
the appellant, he is not awarded capital punishment as such
sentence would also act as a deterrence to the society.
19. We, therefore, on the basis of the aforesaid narrative, come
to the conclusion that:
(a) Death Reference No. 05 of 2023 is answered in
favour of the prosecution and the death sentence
is confirmed.
44 | P a g e
Neutral Citation No. ( 2025:JHHC:12687-DB )
(b) Criminal Appeal (DB) No. 1400 of 2024 stands
dismissed.
20. Pending interlocutory applications, if any, stands closed.
21. Office is directed to send the trial court records back to the
Court concerned along with a copy of the order immediately and
forthwith.
(RONGON MUKHOPADHYAY, J.)
(ARUN KUMAR RAI, J.)
Jharkhand High Court, Ranchi
Dated the 28th Day of April, 2025
Preet/N.A.F.R.
45 | P a g e
