AZIZ DEWAN Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal is against the judgment dated 30th June, 2000 of the 3rd Additional Sessions Judge, Bettiah (West Champaran) passed in Sessions Trial No. 303 of 1998, whereby both the appellants have been convicted under Sections 366-A, 372, IPC. Appellant Aziz Dewan has also been convicted under Section 376, IPC.

(2.) The fardbeyan (Ext-I) was recorded by S.I. K.D. Sharma of Bettiah Police Station on 8th March, 1998 at 7.30 a.m. at the house of victim-informant Ladli Begum who stated that she was a girl aged about 14-15 years and that about 3 months prior, her elder sister Khairu Nisa who was married at Chanpatia had come there and with her the two appellants, who were her tenants had also come and they had stayed for 3 days and, thereafter, when they were returning back, they enticed her (the victim) away with them and in the same night, when her sister was asleep, the two appellants at about 3.00 a.m. took her on a hired Jeep to Gorakhpur where they kept her for 4 days and appellant Aziz started committing rape on her. The appellants further took her to Chaukapur and several other places for 20-25 days and continued the act of rape upon her and then they sold her at Muzaffarpur to a woman and the appellants also lived there for 4 days in the house of that woman and during that period, she (the victim) was forced to illicit intercourse for money which was being shared between the appellants and that woman and that 4 days thereafter the appellants slipped away from there. She remained weeping in that house and one day thereafter she managed to escape from that house. She went to the house of one CHIK (person of 'CHIK' caste) named Lalu and requested him to inform her parents and that at her request, he informed her parents over phone whereupon the parents of the victim came and on Saturday at 1.30 p.m., she returned to her house with her parents and yesterday i.e. one day prior to the lodging of the fardbeyan, appellant Aziz, searching his wife i.e. appellant Hasina Khatoon @ Devijee came to her parents' house as because her parents had also brought Hasina with her. On the arrival of appellant Aziz, at her house, the news spread to the villagers that the kidnappers had come due to which the villagers got incensed and they captured him (Aziz) and beating him brought him out on the villager road and thereafter she (the informant) had no knowledge as to what happened to him. On the basis of the fardbeyan (Ext-1), the FIR (Ext-2) was registered and the investigation was completed and thereafter, on trial, the appellants were convicted and sentenced, as indicated above

(3.) As many at. seven witnesses were examined by the prosecution, PW 5 Ladli Begun is the victim informant. PW 2 Chirkut Mian is the father of the victim. PW 3 Nazeeb Ahmad Quareshi and PW 4 Sainullah are the neighbours of the informant, PW 1 Md. Muslim is also informant's neighbour, PW 7 Surendra Kumar Tiwary is the i.O. of the case. PW 6 Harendra Nath Pandey is the Police Officer who simply submitted the charge-sheet on completion of investigation.