JUDGMENT :

Sujit Narayan Prasad, J.

1. The instant appeal, under Section 374 (2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, has been preferred against the judgment of conviction and order of sentence dated 30th November, 1994 passed by learned 2nd Additional Sessions Judge, Chaibasa, in Sessions Trial No. 543 of 1990, whereby and whereunder, the sole appellant has been convicted for commission of offence under Section 376 , 302 and 201 of INDIAN PENAL CODE and sentenced to undergo imprisonment for life for the offence committed under Section 302 and has been further sentence to five years for the offence under Section 376 of I.P.C. and both the sentences passed were directed to run concurrently.

2. The prosecution story in brief as per the allegation made in the Fard Beyan by one Joseph Vengra, father of the deceased at about 8:30 a.m. on 29.12.1989, reads as under:

It has been alleged that the informant’s daughter Subnam Vengra on 28.12.1989 in the morning was playing in the village along with other children. The informant saw his daughter playing at about 11:00 a.m. by the side of the house of his maternal uncle Kamil Balmuchu. The informant at about 12 o’clock searched for his daughter for the purpose of taking meal, she was not found. The informant and his family members became worried and they started making search for Subnam Vengra. On 29.12.1989 at 5:40 a.m., the informant’s maternal uncle came to the informant’s house and told that his two sons Pitar Balmuchu and Prakash Balmuchu were going towards river in the morning at 5:30 a.m., they saw the dead body of Subnam Vengra lying on the way to river and they informed about this to the informant’s uncle and then informant’s uncle came to inform the informant. On this information the informant along with his younger brother Johan Vengra, maternal uncle Kamil Balmuchu went to the place of occurrence and they saw the dead body of Subnam Vengra lying there and they identified the dead body to be of Subnam Vengra. There was blood stain on the deceased’s face, nose and mouth and that those blood stains were looking fresh. There were also blood stains in the eyes and below the eye. Some blood stains were also found on the ground. There were blood stains near the head and leg of the deceased. There were also blood stains in the finger of both legs and there were also wounds. The deceased Subnam Vengra while playing was wearing red and white coloured bangles in her wrist but they were not found in the wrist of her dead body. The informant with the help of his brother brought the dead body of Subnam to their house. It has been further alleged that while the informant and his family members were making search of Subnam Vengra on 28.12.1989, in the night they also came to the place of occurrence at about 11:00 p.m. but at that time the dead body of Subnam Vengra was not lying there. The informant suspected that his daughter might have been murdered in the second phase of night and her dead body was kept at that place after her murder. The informant claimed that some unknown person enticed away the informant’s daughter while she was playing and thereafter that unknown person committed her murder and he also kept her dead body in the way to canal.

The deceased was aged about 9 (nine) years. A case under section 302 I.P.C. was registered against unknown. During the course of investigation and after the post-mortem report it was also detected as to commission of rape upon the deceased so section 376 I.P.C. was also added.

During investigation the inquest report was prepared as t