Kendrapada: A fast-track special POCSO court in Odisha’s Kendrapada has sentenced a 55-year-old man to 20 years of imprisonment for sodomising a 14-year-old boy in a cowshed in a village three years ago.
The court also imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 on the convict, Soudagar Sahoo. In case of default, he has spend two more years in jail.
While pronouncing the verdict, Ad-hoc additional sessions judge Tribikram Keshari Chinhara said the convict committed carnal intercourse against the order of nature with the minor. He was convicted under Section 377 (unnatural offences, including sexual relationships that are considered to be against nature) of Indian Penal Code and section – 6 (aggravated penetrative sexual assault) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012.
The court also directed the Odisha State Legal Services Authority (OSLSA) to pay a compensation of Rs 5 lakh to the boy.
On July 16, 2021, mother of the victim boy filed an FIR with the police station, alleging that the accused sodomized her son after dragging him to a secluded cowshed near the village.
Ten witnesses, including the victim, deposed before the court. “After relying on the evidence of witnesses and a medical report, the court found him guilty of the offence,” said special public prosecutor Manoj Kumar Sahu.
