Ashutosh Kumar, J. – All the four appeals have been taken up together and are being disposed off by this common judgment.

2. We have heard Mr. Subodh Kumar Jha, Mr. Indu Bhushan and Mr. Davendra Kumar Pandey, the learned Advocates for the appellants in Cr. Appeal (DB) Nos. 678 of 2015, 773 of 2015 and 307 of 2016 respectively.

3. Nobody has appeared on behalf of the appellant/Shoshit Kumar @ Suchit Kumar in Cr. Appeal (DB) No. 665 of 2015. However, on the request of the Court, Mr. Subodh Kumar Jha, the learned Advocate, has assisted us on behalf of the appellant/Shoshit Kumar @ Suchit Kumar.

4. The State, in all these appeals, has been represented by Mr. Dilip Kumar Sinha, the learned APP.

5. It may be noted that the appellants/Shoshit Kumar @ Suchit Kumar, Uday Kumar Mandal @ Uday Mandal and Pankaj Mandal were tried by the learned Addl. Sessions Judge-V, Munger in Sessions Trial No. 496 of 2009, whereas the appellant/Barun Mandal [Cr. Appeal (DB) No. 307 of 2016] was tried by the same learned Judge but in a different sessions trial, namely, Sessions Trial No. 481 of 2012. The investigation with respect to appellant/Barun Mandal was kept pending for a while, whereafter he too was sent