JUDGMENT :

Fakkir Mohamed Ibrahim Kalifulla, J.

1. These two appeals arise out of a common judgment dated 15.10.2008, passed in Criminal Appeal No.251 of 1997 preferred by the accused-Ashok Das alias Gopal Das and Government Appeal No.20 of 1999 as against the acquittal of accused Nos.1 to 4.

2. As per the case of the prosecution on 03.04.1996, at about 04.00 p.m. when P.Ws.8, 11 and the deceased Padma Lochan Jena were proceeding from Bhadrak to Agarapada in a Rajdoot Motorcycle, about half a kilometer before Kadabaranga Chhaka, the accused numbering five, each one of them armed with deadly weapons obstructed them and when the three persons tried to escape, the accused chased them and assaulted them with the aid of the weapons held by them. At that point of time, a trekker passed through the road and on seeing the same, the accused persons fled away. The trekker however did not stop, but P.W.7 along with one Debendra Padhi who were also proceeding on that road in a motorcycle stopped at the place of occurrence, helped the deceased as well as P.Ws.8 and 11 who were also injured by shifting them to a hospital in a mini bus called Santoshi coming on that road and that before they could r