CUTTACK: The Orissa High Court on Wednesday acquitted a man, who was sentenced to life imprisonment by the Additional Sessions Judge of Patnagarh for killing an 18-year-old girl. Both the accused, Bhikari Behera and the girl belonged to Bagiharan village within Khaparakhol police limits of Balangir district. The girl was found missing on August 22, 2015. Her body was found in a putrefied condition three days later at a kendu leaf godown in nearby Dudungdarha village.
On July 7, 2018, the Additional Sessions Judge of Patnagarh had convicted Bhikari upon finding that the girl had insisted on marrying him after she was impregnated by him. While Bhikari had tried to convince her to abort the pregnancy, the girl refused. Then Bhikari took her to the kendu leaf godown, gave her a poisonous injection, and to remove any evidence of murder set her on fire which resulted in her death.
Bhikari had filed a criminal appeal in the High Court challenging the trial court’s conviction and life imprisonment sentence. While allowing the criminal appeal on Wednesday, a division bench comprising Chief Justice S Muralidhar and Justice BP Routray observed: “In the instant case, as seen from the materials brought by prosecution, not a single circumstance is found established against the appellant to point towards his guilt. The trial judge without any evidence has erroneously concluded that the case of prosecution regarding involvement of the appellant has been proved beyond all reasonable doubt and the motive against him has also been proved”.
The bench ruled, “In the result it is held that the prosecution has failed to establish the charges against the accused (convict) and thus, the impugned judgment of conviction and sentence of the trial court is set aside. The circumstance that the appellant was a quack by profession and used to visit her house frequently cannot be considered as a relevant circumstance against the appellant for commission of offence. The appellant is acquitted of the charges and he be set at liberty forthwith, in case his detention is not warranted in any other case.”