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passed by the learned 7 th Addl. District & Sessions Judge-cum-Exclusive Special Judge (POCSO), Sasaram in POCSO Case No. 42 of 2019, arising out of Bikramganj P.S. Case No. 217 of 2019. By order dated 28.04.2023, they have been sentenced to undergo R.I. for 20 years, to pay a fine of Rs. 50,000/- each and in default of payment of fine, to further suffer S.I. for six months for the offence under Section 6 of POCSO Act, 2012.

8. A horrendous tale by the father of the deceased (P.W. 4), forms the basis of the prosecution case.

9. P.W. 4 (the father) had lodged the fardbeyan on 30.04.2019 at Karuna Hospital in Bikramganj at about 10:40 hours, alleging that his wife/Asha Devi (P.W. 3) had informed him at his workplace, a Rice Mill Plant, that his five year old daughter is missing from the home. On such information, he came back home at about 08:30 P.M. on 30.04.2019 and was Patna High Court CR. APP (DB) No.653 of 2023 dt.07-01-2025 told by his wife that Ravindra, who is the son of the co- brother of his neighbour, namely, Surendra Mahto, and his friend, who had come from Delhi, had been playing with the victim/deceased some times ago. On this information, P.W. 4 along with the other villagers went to the house of Ravindra Singh and accosted him and his friend, who did not give any specific reply. In fact, they, may be for pretence, offered to search his daughter. Shortly, thereafter, the dead-body of his daughter was found in the field. From the look of the dead-body, it appeared that she was strangulated as there was a ligature mark and the deceased was bleeding from her private parts. This gave an impression that, perhaps, the appellants had raped and killed the deceased.

10. Based on the afore-noted fardbeyan statement of P.W. 4, a case vide Bikramganj P.S. Case No. 217 of 2019, dated 30.04.2019, was registered for investigation under Sections 376 and 302/34 of the IPC, Sections 4 and 6 of the POCSO Act, 2012 and Sections 3 Patna High Court CR. APP (DB) No.653 of 2023 dt.07-01-2025 (2) (V) and 3 (1) (W) (I) (II) of the Scheduled Castes & Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.

14. The grandmother of the victim (P.W. 1) is the only person who had seen Ravindra offering biscuits to the deceased. It was, thereafter, that the mother of the deceased came looking for her. P.W. 1 told the mother of the victim about Ravindra having offered biscuits. Thereafter, the whole story unfolded. The mother of the deceased called her husband (P.W. 4), who came back home and with the help of the villagers found out the dead-body. P.W. 1, in her cross-examination, has admitted that for a plot of land, a case was pending in Bikramganj Court in which, she and Ravindra both were parties. The land in question was in occupation of none. Ravindra Singh had long being working at Delhi and on that day, his friend (appellant/Ruksad @ Rukshad) had also come to the village. When the dead-body of the deceased was recovered, she was found to be wearing a Patna High Court CR. APP (DB) No.653 of 2023 dt.07-01-2025 red T-shirt and a pair of jeans. Be it noted that the prosecution version is that the deceased was found naked in the filed. The suggestion to her that the victim had died a natural death and that this case has wrongly been put up because of land dispute, was vehemently denied by her.