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State Bureau, Ranchi. The division bench of Justice R Mukhopadhyay and Justice PK Srivastava of Jharkhand High Court has given a major verdict in the case of murder of notorious criminal Sushil Srivastava and his two associates in Hazaribagh Civil Court premises, acquitting all the culprits. The division bench overturned the Hazaribagh court's decision, saying the prosecution had failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt.
This incident occurred on June 2, 2015, when criminal Sushil Srivastava and his two associates Kamran Khan and Gaya Khan were fatally attacked during their appearance in Hazaribagh Civil Court premises. The attackers opened fire with AK-47 rifles and also threw hand grenades. All three had died in this incident. After investigation of the case, Vikas Tiwari, Vishal Singh, Dilip Sao and Rahul Dev Pandey were made accused. On September 11, 2020, Hazaribagh Court had convicted all the accused and sentenced them to life imprisonment. An appeal was filed in the High Court against this decision.
The High Court has said in its decision that there are major discrepancies in the statements of eyewitnesses. Where some witnesses spoke of two-three attackers. While some claimed to have eight-ten people. The court said that the way only one AK-47 rifle was recovered during the escape and the ballistic report stated the use of two rifles, this gives strength to the statements of the witnesses of the victim's side, who had said that there were two-three attackers.
Questions on witness identification process
The court also raised serious questions on the identification process of police witnesses. Many policemen admitted that they had seen the photographs of accused Vikas Tiwari in newspapers and after that he was identified. The court said that the identification parade conducted after publication of photographs in newspapers and identification in the court has no meaning. Many policemen also told that the SP had put pressure on them that their suspension would be ended only after identifying the accused.
The court also termed the testimony of Sushil Srivastava's son Avik Srivastava and Deepak Kumar Rao as unreliable. Avik Srivastava filed a case on September 3, 2015, three months after the incident, while his brother Aman Srivastava had recorded a statement on June 2 at Medica Hospital, Ranchi, in which Vikas Tiwari or any other accused was not named. Deepak Kumar Rao himself admitted that by the time he reached the spot, the incident had already happened and the police had also arrived.
On the charge of conspiracy, the court said that the prosecution failed to prove that there was any express consent or agreement between all the accused. It was alleged against Rahul Dev Pandey that he had talked to Vikas Tiwari on mobile, but neither any mobile was recovered nor CDR (Call Detail Record) was produced. Rahul Dev Pandey was in jail on the day of the incident, which was proved from the jail register.
The court also said that accused like Vishal Singh and Dilip Sao were not kept in the TI parade (identification parade) and the identification made for the first time in the court after three years cannot be held valid from the point of law.
Negligence in police investigation
The High Court said that the incident was a serious blow to the sacred institution of justice, but the manner in which the investigation was conducted and the evidence presented to solve it was extremely poor and negligent. Contradictions in witness statements, delayed recording of statements, suppression of crucial evidence (such as Aman Srivastava's statement) and pressurizing the police for identification weakened the prosecution's case.
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