RANJAY KUMAR CHOUDHARY Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal is directed against the judgment dated 22-12-2000 and order dated 2- 1-2001 passed by IInd Additional Sessions Judge, Khagaria in Sessions Trial No. 164 of 1997 convicting and sentencing both the appellants to undergo imprisonment for life and to pay a fine of Rs. 5,000/- each and in default to undergo further rigorous imprisonment for one year each under Sections 302/34 of Indian Penal Code (in short "IPC") and to undergo imprisonment for life under Sections 376/34 of IPC. Both the sentences have been ordered to run concurrently.

(2.) The case of prosecution, in short, as stated in Fard-e-bayan of informant Upendra Thakur (PW. 7), is that informant had grown maize and peas crops in one bigha of land in Gaura Gopi Bahiyar and one week before recording his Fard-e-bayan, he had raised a Bathan in which he used to keep his buffaloes and remained sitting there for day and night to look after his field and his both deceased daughters Bichiya Kumari aged about sixteen years and Sulekha Kumari aged about eight years used to bring lunch to his Bathan from his house and in the evening, they used to go back to their house. On 24-1 -1996 at about 12 o'clock In the noon, his both aforesaid deceased daughters came to Bhathan with his lunch and he then told them that he had already taken lunch by taking the same from his neighbour Jagdish Sharma and asked them to take that lunch. His both daughters took lunch and, thereafter, said that they had to go back to home for doing some house work as directed by their mother and he then asked his daughters to first scrap grass for buffaloes and, thereafter, go to home and his both daughters at about 1 PM went towards west of his Bathan. for scrapping grass and he also went towards east in the field of Prabhas Rai for scrapping grass as ordered by Prabhas Rai. At that time, he saw appellant Ranjay Kumar Choudhary along with Pintoo Kumar and Nijna Choudhary sitting in the Bathan of Pintoo Kumar and talking with each other. About 1 1/2 hours thereafter, he returned to his Bathan and went towards west along with his buffaloes for washing them and, thereafter, when he again returned to his Bathan. he saw appellant Ranjay Kumar Choudhary and Nijna Choudhary going on fastly on a horse and he also saw Pintoo Choudhary coming hurriedly from the western side and sitting in his own Bathan. He further found that his daughters had not come back and he then thought that they might have gone to their house. On the same day at about 8 p.m. his son along with Kewal Mandal and Biddi Mandal came there searching for his daughters and told him that they had not reached the house and he told him that because it was night so he would make search for his daughters in the morning and told him to go back and make search in the village and house. His son along with aforesaid persons returned and on the next day in the morning, informant started making search for his daughters and went in the maize field of one Mukti Rai where he found his both daughters lying dead. Lace of Shalwar of his elder daughter Bichiya Kumari was found broken and she was lying in half naked condition with injuries on her private parts and her Shalwar was smeared with blood which had flown from her private parts and there were marks of strangulation and marks of piercing wounds by Chura near her right ear, above the eyes and cheek. Her frock and Shalwar were also found smeared with blood and blood that had fallen on soil and also on maize plants. He further found piercing injuries of Churn, on all sides oi right eye of his younger daughter and also on her neck and head and there were marks of strangulation on her body' also and blood, after falling from her private part, had smeared on the ground. On seeing the dead bodies of both his daughters, he raised alarm on which a number of persons assembled. He was confident that Pintoo Kumar; Nijna Choudhary and appellant Ranjay Kumar, after committing rape on his both daughters, committed their murder by strangulation and assaulting them with Chura. His son Bipin Thakur (PW. 6) along with a number of villagers came there and his son told him that in village, people were confidentially talking that villagers had seen Nijna Choudhary and appellant Ranjay Kumar fleeing on a horse from Bahiyar with bloodstains on their bodies and clothes and had seen them washing blood-stains-in the flow of water in Bahiyar. Information was sent to Atarkhand Outpost and when no body turned up from there, information was sent to Parbatta Thana. In Fard-c-bayan. informant claimed that Pintoo Kumar, Nijna Choudhary and appellant Ranjay Kumar @ Ranjayya, after committing rape on his both minor daughters, committed their murder by strangulation and assaulting them with Chura. About the motive of occurrence, informant, in his Fard-e-bayan. has stated that on the day of occurrence in the morning, a stray mare had come to his Bathan and he had tied it but Pintoo Kumar had forcibly taken it away to his house and he had raised protest and on the same day at about 12.30 PM when Nijhna Choudhary and appellant Ranjay Kumar had come for taking that meare and when he asked them not to do so, they had given him threatening and they forcibly took away the mare.

(3.) On the basis of Fard-e-bayan of informant, a ease under Sections 302, 201, 376/34 of Indian Penal Code was registered against Nijna Choudhary, Pintoo Choudhary and appellant Ranjay Kumar @ Ranjayya and police, after investigation, submitted chargesheet against them and also against appellant Prabhash Choudhary who was not named in the first information report. The trial of Nijna Choudhary and Pintoo Choudhary was separated vide order dated 28-07-1997 from the trial of both the appellants who, after trial, were found guilty under Sections 302/34 and 376/34 of Indian Penal Code and were convicted and sentenced, as indicated above.