Fastest Justice In BIHAR- Look Iindia

Bihar court hands out rape bid verdict in 5 hrs

SASARAM: It must be a record in the annals of Indian jurisprudence — completion of a criminal case trial in five hours, with the rape bid accused getting five years of rigorous imprisonment.

Rohtas district and sessions judge, Arun Kumar Srivastava, on Thursday pronounced Deo Kumar Chaudhary alias Teman Chaudhary, of Dhawa village, guilty of attempting to rape a minor girl on July 23 and sentenced him to five years of rigorous imprisonment.

In fact, the court concluded the deposition of the victim, all six witnesses, including the victim's father and brother and the investigating officer, besides the defendant, in about four hours. The judge took the next hour to deliver the judgment.

According to the prosecution, eight-year-old Kalpana (name changed) and her five-year-old brother were on the way to collect grass when Deo, a 30-year-old farm worker, lured them with a five-rupee note to a poultry farm. The siblings started crying when Deo tried to rape Kalpana. Villagers rescued the two but Deo escaped.

Sources said Kalpana's father took her to lodge an FIR but the officer-in-charge advised him to compromise. But, following his refusal, Deo's uncle Brij Bihari Chaudhary assaulted him. An FIR was lodged after two days under bailable sections of the IPC dealing with simple assault, and the accused were released on bail.

But, the Nokha circle inspector supervised the case on July 27 and recorded statements of the victim, her father, brother and others. In his supervision report, the inspector berated the OC for his failure to lodge a case. Deo was again arrested on August 2.

On August 14, police filed a chargesheet against him for rape, and his uncle Brij for assault. Their bail petitions were rejected by the Sasaram chief judicial magistrate and the district judge on August 18 and September 12, respectively. The court, however, let off Brij after a warning.

The court's feat comes close on the heels of a meeting of DMs, district police chiefs and district judges, convened jointly by the state government and the Patna High Cout. The meeting underlined the importance of speedy trial of cases.