JUDGMENT :

A.M. BADAR, J.

1. By this appeal, appellant/convicted accused, Srikant Paswan @ Srikant Paswn is challenging the Judgment and order dated 25.07.2016 and 01.08.2016 passed by the learned Ist Additional Sessions Judge, Patna, in Special (POCSO) Case No. 08 of 2014 between the parties, thereby convicting him of the offences punishable under Section 376 of the Indian Penal Code and Section 4 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offence Act (“POCSO Act” for the sake of brevity). The accused is sentenced to suffer rigorous imprisonment for ten years apart from imposition of fine of Rs. 10,000/- and default sentence of simple imprisonment for six months for the offence punishable under Section 4 of the POCSO Act. He is not separately sentenced for the offence punishable under Section 376 of the Indian Penal Code in view of the provisions of Section 42 of the POCSO Act. For the sake of convenience, the appellant shall be referred to in his original capacity as “an accused.”

2. Facts leading to the prosecution of the accused projected from the police report can be summarized thus:

(A) The victim of the crime in question is PW-6 Ms. J. (identity concealed). She used to reside at