ARJAN RAM NAURATA RAM Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Arjan has preferred an appeal to this Court from his conviction and sentence under Section 376, Indian Penal Code. The trial Court has sentenced him to undergo rigorous imprisonment for two years for having committed the offence of rape against Mst. Jhanjo P.W. 1 of village Nasirpur in District Gurgaon.

(2.) The accused was a foot constable. The facts of this case are that Mst. Jhano, aged 30 years, was returning from village Hathin to her village Nasirpur and was accompanied with her minor daughter aged 4 years. The accused in police uniform and two companions of his, who were also in police uniform, were seen coming by her at the Railway Station Sholaka which fell on her way. On overtaking her, they said that she was a vagrant which allegation her, they said that she was a vagrant which allegation she denied and told them that she was coming from village Hathin after having met her relations and was proceeding to her own village. They kept on walking beside her and went on pestering her with questions on the way. She then took path leading to her village along the canal bank and she passed by some men who were busy extricating bullocks which had got stuck in the marshy ground. After she had covered some more distance and was passing along a sugarcane field, the her asked her to pull a sugarcane from the field for her daughter but she declined to do so. They then verbally threatened her with beating with the dandas which they were carrying and the companions of the accused forcibly took her in the sugarcane field. The accused remained outside with her little daughter. She tried to raise alarm but her mouth was plugged and both the constables, in turn, committed rape on her. Then the accused also went inside the sugarcane field and he too committed rape on her. In the meanwhile the accused was surprised by two men. They caught hold of the accused before he was able to tie his belt but his other two companions made good their escape. Mst. Jhanjo narrated the occurrence to these men. The accused was taken to village Sewli where Inspector of Police was camping. Mst. Jhanjo gave her statement to the Inspector who recorded it and it is Exhibit P. A. He also took into possession the dhoti and the petticoat which were found to be stained with semen. The accused was also handed over to the Inspector who put him under arrest.

(3.) The prosecution case is supported by the statements of P.W. 4, Ram Parshad, a clerk in the Army Training Battalion, and a resident of village Serai Katela, and of p. W. 5 Kishan Lal, who belongs to the same village. These two witnesses stated that they and some others were trying to extricate a bullock that had got stuck in the mud near their field. A Meo woman passed by them and at her instance they went to the sugarcane field. On their arrival, two police constables, who were wearing police uniform ran away, but they secured the accused while he was adjusting his clothes and fastening his belt. These two witnesses saw the accused getting up from the ground while Mst. Jhanjo was lying there and she also sat up. She was weeping at that time. The prosecution witnesses did not hear any alarm being raised by her. She immediately narrated the incident to the prosecution witnesses and told them how the accused and his companions had been pestering and following her and what they did to her in the sugarcane field.