JUDGMENT

S.N. Variava, J.-This Appeal is against a Judgment dated 7th July, 1997 of a Division Bench of the Bombay High Court as per which the conviction and sentence awarded to the Respondent by a Sessions Court were set aside, and he was acquitted.

2. Briefly stated the facts are as follows:

On 23rd October, 1995, which was a Diwali day, P.W.10 one Shantabai and her son Satish had gone to the market for purchasing Puja articles and some fire crackers. When they returned home they found that Nisha (the daughter of Satish aged 3 years) was not at home. The efforts of all the members of the family to find out the young girl bore no fruits. Therefore, a missing report was lodged with the police station.

3. On 24th October, 1995 P.W. 6 one Tanhabai Davkar went to the field to cut grass. There she noticed the dead body of a young girl lying among the sugarcane crop. Tanhabai then informed her son P.W.12 one Sitaram Deokar that she had seen a body lying in the sugarcane field. Sitaram Deokar informed the police. In the meantime, Shantabai came to the police station to make enquiries. She was informed that there was the dead body of a young girl lying in the field. Shantabai identifi