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15. 9 Laboratory.

11. The defence did not lead any evidence in support of its case.

12. Chandrawati Devi (P.W.1) stated in her examination-in-chief that on the date of occurrence at about 2:00 PM, her nephew Deo Kumar went out of the house to play. When he did not return till 5:00 PM, an enquiry began to be made of the boy's whereabouts. In course of the search, it transpired that the appellant Durgawati Devi had taken Deo Kumar on the pretext of treating him to ice cream. When her brother-in-law Vinod Shah inquired from Durgawati Devi about his missing son, she stated that he had not come to her house. She further stated that in course of the search conducted for the missing boy, his body was found in the bushes near Laddu Shah's house. His neck had been slit by a sharp-edged knife. Thereafter, information in this regard was given to the police. When the police arrived, they first took the statement of Vinod Shah and then of Dwarika Shah. Thereafter, the police inspected Patna High Court D. REF. No.1 of 2020 dt.10-09-2021 the house of the appellants Durgawati Devi and Sankesa Devi. It was noticed that the house had been washed with water and bloodstains were found on the walls of the Puja Ghar. Bloodstains were also found on the clothes like saree and nighty. She stated that a bloodstained knife and a basket were recovered from the place of occurrence. She further stated that the motive behind the murder was that the appellant Durgawati Devi, the mother-in-law of the appellant Sankesha Devi did not have any grand-children since long and Deo Kumar was sacrificed under the influence of superstition and black magic as someone had told her to sacrifice a child to beget a child.

13. In cross-examination, she admitted that Sankesa Devi was married six months before the occurrence. She further admitted that she does not know when the child went missing. She admitted that she came to know about the missing child of the informant after his dead body was recovered. She admitted that she has deposed before the court based on doubts in her mind. She admitted that prior to her deposition before the court, she had not made any statement before the police. She also admitted that she had personally never visited the house of the appellants and her deposition about bloodstains having been found on the walls of the Puja Patna High Court D. REF. No.1 of 2020 dt.10-09-2021 Ghar of the appellants' house was based on hearsay. She stated that after the incident took place, the police had arrested several ladies, who believed in superstition and black magic, but they were released later. She denied the defence suggestion that she had falsely deposed before the court.

23. In cross-examination, the informant Vinod Shah admitted that he did not witness the occurrence. He stated that the seizure list was prepared on the date of occurrence itself at about 8-9 AM and the Daroga had taken the seized articles on the same day. He admitted that Baliram Kumar (P.W. 5) had made his statement in the police station on the date of occurrence itself. The said fardbeyan was recorded by the police, on which he had put his signature in presence of the family members. He admitted that in the fardbeyan of Baliram Kumar, the name of any of the accused involved in the offence was not mentioned. He affirmed that in his previous statement, he had disclosed the motive for commission of the offence that Patna High Court D. REF. No.1 of 2020 dt.10-09-2021 since Durgawati Devi's son had no grandchildren, Deo Kumar was sacrificed under the influence of black magic and superstition. He asserted that he previously mentioned that the house of the accused persons had been searched, which led to the discovery of blood-stained soil and blood-stained frock from the first house and blood on the stairs and stone chips were found on the terrace of the second house.

26. In cross-examination, she stated that she does not know why her son was killed. However, immediately thereafter she stated that since Durgawati Devi did not have any grandchildren, his son was sacrificed under the influence of superstition and black magic. She expressed her ignorance about who called the police. She stated that her statement was recorded by the police while she was semi-conscious. She denied the defence suggestion that she had falsely deposed before the court.