SANJAY SINGH Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal is directed against the judgment dated 6-5-2003 and order dated 7-5-2003 passed by 6th Additional Sessions Judge, East Champaran, Motihari, in sessions Trial No. 392 of 2002/ 50 of 2002 convicting and sentencing both the appellants to undergo R. I. for 10 years each under Section 304-B and R. I. for 1 year each under Section 201 of the Indian Penal Code (in short, IPC). Both the sentences have, however, been ordered to run concurrently.

(2.) The case of prosecution, in short, is that Sudha Kumari, the deceased daughter of informant Vijay Kumar Singh (PW-3) was married to appellant Sanjay Singh in the year 1998. After marriage deceased went to her 'Sasural' and six months thereafter informant brought her to his house but 10- 15 days thereafter appellant Sanjay Singh called her of Raxaul and from Raxaul he took her to his village Parsauna Tapsi. 2-3 months thereafter when informant went to Parsauna Tapsi to meet his deceased daughter she by weeping told him that she was being tortured by the members of family of her 'Sasural' and her mother-in-law, father- in-law appellant Bhup Narayan Singh, husband appellant Sanjay Singh and 'Devar' on demand of a buffalo used to assault her. Informant made a request to appellants, mother-in-law and 'Devar' of deceased not to torture his deceased daughter and promised that he would arrange money and thereafter would give them a buffalo but in spite of this assurance, appellants and their relations continued torture on deceased. One month prior to occurrence informant after purchasing a buffalo handed over the same to family members of 'Sasural' of her deceased daughter. For some time every thing remained normal but again daughter of informant was put to torture and this time on the demand of a sum of Rs. 1 lakh for purchasing a Commander Jeep. On getting informantion of this fact, informant went to village Parsuna Tapsi where his deceased daughter told him that appellants and their relations were giving her threatening that if informant did not give them a sum of Rs. 1 Lakh they would kill her. Informant tried to explain his inability of fulfilling the demand of a sum of Rs. 1 Lakh to appellants and their relations but they did not listen to him and informant then returned to his house and narrated this fact to his villagers namely. Dharmdeo Singh (PW-4), Jagat Singh (not examined), Ramayan Singh (PW-1) and others. They all advised the informant to bring his daughter to his house and informant on a number of times went to Village Parsauna Tapsi for bringing her daughter with him but he was not allowed to do so and whenever he met his daughter at her 'Sasural' she told him that in case of non fulfilment of demand of appellants and their relations in respect of a sum of Rs. 1 Lakh she would be killed. On 15-7-2001 at about 6 P. M. Madhusudan Singh (not examined) came to the house "of informant and told him that appellant Sanjay Singh was ill and he had been called by his 'Samadhi' Bhup Narayan Singh at Ramgarhwa. Informant then with Madhusudan Singh went to Ramgarhwa on a motorcycle and met the appellant Bhup Narayan Singh who informed him that his deceased daughter Sudha was seriously ill at Parsauna Tapsi and advised him to see her there. This information caused suspicion to informant because Madhusudan Singh had not told him about the illness of his deceased daughter and when he inquired from Madhusudan Singh who told him that his deceased daughter had died at her 'Sasural' at village Parsauna Tapis. The informant came to his village and from there went to village Parsauna Tapsi along with a number of villagers but he did not find the dead body of his daughter in her 'Sasural' but Bir Bahadur Singh (PW-5), ex-Mukhiya of village Parsauna Tapsi and his younger brother Chhote Lal Singh (PW-6) told him that appellants and their family members had taken the dead body of his deceased daughter to the bank of Gad river for cremation on a tractor. Informant then along with this villagers and Bir Bahadur Singh and Chhote Lal Singh went to Pakariya Ghat of Gad river where he found some persons running away from a lonely place and in the light of a torch he identified appellant Sanjay Singh and his brother Pramod Singh, Satyadeo Singh and Janardan Singh of village Parsauna Tapis. He also found marks of burning of dead body, smell of kerosene oil and some small pieces of bones. The Fardbeyan of informant (Ext. 2) was recorded by SI H. N. P. Singh (PW7) on the same day at village Parsauna Tapsi at 11 P.M. In the Fardbeyan informant further stated that his deceased daughter had a daughter aged about one year who was also traceless. In Fardbeyan he claimed that for non fulfilment of demand for a sum of Rs. 1 Lakh appellants, Munni Devi, mother-in-law and Pramod Singh, brother-in-law of the deceased committed her murder and in order to get the evidence disappeared they burnt her dead body.

(3.) On the basis of Fardbeyan of informant a case under Sections 304-B/34/2001 IPC was registered against the appellants as well as against Munni Devi, Pramod Singh, Satyadeo Singh, Janardan Singh and 7-8 unknown persons.