DASU PAIKRANI Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE appellant Dasu Paik-rani a young woman of twenty years of age has been convicted under Section 302 Indian Penal Code and sentenced to transportation for life for having committed the murder of one female child, Sukri by name, aged about ten years, by assaulting her with a stone. She has also been convicted under Section 392 Indian Penal Code, for having robbed the child of the the gold and silver ornaments which she was then wearing on her person, but no separate sentence has been awarded thereunder.

(2.) THE family of the appellant's parents are the residents of village Sastiguda. She has been since her marriage living with her husband in village Karanjiguda which is at a distance of about six miles from the village of her parents family. The present occurrence is said to have taken place on the 27th January 1963 at about 10 a. m. It is said that about a fortnight before she had gone from her husband's place to her parents village of Sastiguda and had been living with the father of P. W. 1. Nila Paikani who is his brother. The parents of the female child Sukri, namely Sambaru Patra (P. W. 3) and his wife Padma Paikani P. W. 4 are also residents of Sastiguda and are close neighbours of the family of P. W. 1.

(3.) THE prosecution case is that on the 27th January 1963 the appellant saw the deceased Sukri and P. W. 1 Nila on the village lane. Sukri also had her baby sister with her. The appellant went to them, took away the baby from the deceased and handed her over to her mother in the house in which she was husking paddy and then came back and asked the girl Sukri and P. W. 1 Nila to accompany her to the brinjal garden of her brother Arjun Patra. They went there and plucked some brinjals, but after sometime the appellant took Sukri to a nearby hillock called kiradnagar on the pretext of plucking leaves, and asked Nila to remain and wait near the brinjal garden at the foot of the hillock. The appellant picked up a big stone and assaulted the girl Sukri with the same on her head. The deceased girl sukri cried aloud. Hearing the cry the other girl Nila went there and saw the appellant assaulting the deceased with a stone. Out of fear Nila ran away to her house and reported the occurrence to her step-mother Lakhmi, Paikani (P. W. 2 ). P. W. 2 did not believe the occurrence and asked P. W. 1 not to disclose the same before anybody.