Man who stabbed victim 16 times convicted of murder

New Delhi, Dec 15 (PTI) A Delhi sessions court has convicted a man charged with stabbing a person to death due to personal enmity in 2017 on the testimony of the victim’s minor son.

The court was hearing a case of knife attack against Bal Karan Yadav, who was accused of stabbing Khushi Ram 16 times in Okhla Phase 3. Ram was declared dead at a hospital.

“The case of prosecution stands proved against the accused beyond a reasonable doubt. Hence, he is convicted for the offence under section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code,” Additional Sessions Judge Sachin Sangwan said in an order last week.

The court has posted the matter for further proceedings on January 17 when arguments on sentence will likely take place.

The court said merely because the family of the deceased did not name Yadav as the killer in the phone call to police doesn’t mean they did not know his identity.

Rejecting the argument of Yadav’s counsel that the testimony of the victim’s minor son, who was an eyewitness, was “planted evidence”, the court said the testimony of a witness has to be appreciated considering the age, social background, education, profession etc.

“It is to be noted that the eyewitness was a teenage boy at the time of the incident. Even if a grown-up man witnesses a murder where the injured is stabbed with a knife multiple times and there is blood all over, he may run for cover,” the court said.

It said the reaction of any ordinary individual on witnessing a murder is of self-preservation, shock and mental trauma, and the observation power may dull or freeze during such moments.

The minor son’s testimony had stood the test of cross-examination and cannot be discredited, the court said.

The court said a mere lack of independent witnesses cannot be equated to a false case and it was aware of the general attitude of the public to shy away from police proceedings unless their own interest was involved.

On the accused’s motive, the court said at the time of the offence there was already a case against Yadav under the POCSO Act for allegedly molesting the deceased’s daughter.

After the registration of the case, the accused threatened to kill Ram and the minor daughter following which another complaint was lodged against Yadav, the court said.

“Thus, it cannot be said that the accused had no motive or enmity against the deceased or his family,” the court said, adding, “the mere fact that deceased had some dispute with some other person is not sufficient to disbelieve the accused’s motive.”

Along with the eyewitness account, there was strong forensic evidence against Yadav, the court said.

The court noted that the DNA profile generated from the blood of the deceased was found to match the DNA profile on the knife, clothes and shoes of the accused.

“The scientific evidence leans heavily towards the guilt of the accused. The same also corresponds to the manner in which the crime was committed because the deceased was stabbed multiple times and as many as 16 stab or incised wounds were caused on the body of the deceased,” the court said.

It said it was natural that a lot of blood must have spilled over when Ram was “mercilessly attacked” and the blood would have definitely fallen on the assailant’s clothes or shoes.

“Once it is established that the blood of the deceased was on the wearing clothes or shoes of the accused, the burden shifts on him to explain the circumstances under which the same came on his clothes or shoes,” the court said.

The Amar Colony police had registered an FIR against the accused.