A.P.SINHA and B.P.GRIYAGHEY JJ.

1. The appellant has been found guilty for the offence under Section 302/34 of the Indian Penal Code and has been sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for life.

2. It appears that chargesheet had also been submitted against Jagarnath Singh and Darogi Mandal, but since they were absconding they could not be made available for trial.

3. The prosecution case, in brief, is that in between the night of 19th & 20th September, 1972, the deceased Bhagwan Mahto was sleeping at a little distance outside the Basa in village Ramdhan at Carhbeti Bhaiyar, P. S.Gogri, which was in the field of Anirudha Babu. At about midnight accused Jagarnath Singh, Darogi Mandal and the appellant came near the cot of the deceased, Jagarnath gave a dagger blow on his neck resulting into his death. After committing murder, the appellant had taken away a Mataka full of milk kept inside the Basa. Kaushalya Devi (P. W. 2) the informant along with her two small children were sleeping on a cot just at the door of the Basa and another son Birendar (P. W. 3) was sleeping with his father (deceased) on the same cot. At the time of occurrence, she was breast feeding one of her