Gangrape case in Odisha; Accused 5 receive rigorous imprisonment and 50,000 fine each

According to a news report in the Press Trust of India, in a record of 30 days, a fast-track court in Odisha, West Bengal sentenced five persons to rigorous imprisonment for life and slapped a fine of Rs 50,000 on each of them for the gangrape of a minor girl in Odisha’s Sambalpur district on May 2.
The six accused are Afzal Raja, Tinu Sahu, Hadu Panchabihar, Ashirvad Behera, Abhilash Panchabihar and a juvenile of Sason Bazaaarpada who was sent to a correction home.

The case was heard by Additional District Judge (ADJ) Udayabhanu Jena , who pronounced the sentence yesterday after hearing arguments and counter-arguments by the prosecution and the defense counsels for over 14 hours, Special Public Prosecutor Santosh Panda said.

The 15-year-old girl’s mother had said in her complaint that her daughter, a Class IX student of Sasan area in the district, was on her way home from a local market on May 2 when the juvenile approached her for a conversation, a police officer said.

The boy took her to an isolated place, raped her and abandoned her. The girl was then spotted by five other youths, who also took turns to rape her, the officer said quoting the FIR.

Based on the complaint, the police arrested the six accused over the next three days.

The body of the 15-year-old gang-rape victim of Sason under Sason police limits in the district was cremated on Thursday, 24th May, a day after she allegedly committed suicide by hanging, merely days before the trial began.

Altogether, 21 witnesses were examined by the court during the course of hearing, the special public prosecutor said, adding the verdict would boost people’s faith in judicial system.