SAMIR GHOSH Vs. STATE OF TRIPURA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE appellant was charged with committing rape on a minor girl of eight years, but found at the end of the trial guilty of attempting to commit the said offence. Aggrieved by his conviction and sentenced under Section 342/376/511 of the Indian Penal Code (for short IPC) to suffer rigorous imprisonment of five years and six months with a fine of Rs. 2000/-, by the learned Additional Sessions Judge, West tripura, Agartala in the judgment dated 27-6-2000 in ST 17 (WT/a) of 1999, the appellant has preferred this appeal.

(2.) THE prosecution version in brief is that the victim is the daughter of the informant smt. Kajal Ghosh (P. W. 1 ). The appellant is her close neighbour. He was aged 24 years at the time of the alleged occurrence. On 18-2-1999 Kajal Ghosh left for her place of work at 9. 30 am at Arundhuti Nagar neramac Food Processing Centre, leaving her 8 year old daughter alone in the house. She returned home at 6. 30 pm in the evening and came to know from her daughter that at about 11 am the appellant called the girl to his house on the pretext of sending her to a shop for buying bidi for him. He gave her Rs. 5. When she returned to his house with a packet of bidi and the balance of Rs. 1 in her hand, the appellant suddenly grabbed, disrobed and raped her.

(3.) THE mother, shocked as she was by such nasty and inhuman act by her close neighbour, immediately informed the matter to her neighbours viz. Pankaj Dey (P. W.-2), Shyamal Dutta Gupta (P. W.-3), Smt. Sipra Ghosh (P. W.-4), Tinku Dey (P. W.-5), kajal Deb (P. W.-7), Laxmi Ghosh (P. W.-9), anima Das (P. W.-10), Matilal Pal (P. W.-11)and Debashish Dey (P. W.-13 ). On the following day i. e. 19-2-1999 she formally lodged a first information report (FIR) which was written by Pankaj Dey (P. W.-2) as per her dictation. The criminal investigation into the said offence was thus set in motion.