RAJU Vs. STATE OF DELHI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The present appeal has been filed by the appellant challenging the judgment dated 29.4.2002 whereby he was convicted for an offence under Section 376 sub-section 2(f) and Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (hereinafter referred to as IPC), as well as the order on sentence dated 30.4.2002 whereby he was sentenced to life imprisonment and pay a fine of Rs.25,000/- for the offence under Section 376 sub-section 2(f) and similar sentence for the offence under Section 302 IPC with the direction that both the sentences shall run concurrently.

(2.) It is a case where a minor girl of 11 years of age fell victim to the barbaric and inhumane act of the appellant who first raped her and then murdered her and threw her dead body in the `nallah' (drain).

(3.) As the prosecution story goes, deceased Rajni aged about 11 years (hereinafter referred to as the victim) was brought by her uncle Vijay Kumar from village to his Jhuggi at Kusumpur Pahari, Delhi to look after his two minor children. On the night of 22.9.1998, Vijay Kumar and his wife Veena had gone to the Jhuggi of Mahender to negotiate the purchase of Jhuggi of Netarpal. During negotiation, Vijay Kumar felt the need of easing himself. He took a torch and a water tumbler and went towards the `jungle' near the drain. It was at that time he saw in the torch light, Raju, Appellant going towards the drain with the victim on his shoulder. The victim was naked from her lower portion. When Vijay flashed torch on the head of the appellant, he threw the victim in the drain and ran away. Complainant Vijay Kumar in the torch light saw that Rajni was lying dead and her underwear was not on her body. She was bleeding from her private parts and she was having injuries on her forehead. He came back to the Jhuggi and found blood on the bed. On seeing this Vijay Kumar rushed to the Jhuggi of Raju, the appellant and found that appellant was wearing some other clothes and was washing the clothes earlier worn by him. He raised alarm that Raju had raped and killed the victim. Many people from surrounding Jhuggis collected there who caught hold of the appellant and gave him beatings.