Rayagada: A convict fled the premises of a court in Odisha’s Rayagada district shortly after he was sentenced to life imprisonment in connection with the November 2019 train passenger kidnapping, extortion, and sexual assault case.
The absconding convict has been identified as Shundi Prakash. Rayagada police have launched a manhunt and deployed tracking teams to apprehend the fugitive convict
The escape occurred right after Additional District and Sessions Judge Alpana Swain delivered the final judgment in case, handing down life sentences to Prakash and eight co-accused: Hadapa Shiva, G Bangaru, Shundi Suraj, Majhi Raja, Garli Surendra, G Teja, G Venu, and Majhi Joseph. All nine men were convicted under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including kidnapping and attempt to murder, and were each fined Rs 20,000.
Additionally, convict Hadapa Shiva received a separate life term and a Rs 10,000 fine under IPC Section 377 for sexually assaulting the victim, with all sentences set to run concurrently. The court also instructed the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) to provide suitable monetary compensation to the victim.
“As many as 36 witnesses deposed during the trial, and the prosecution successfully established the charges against them,” said public prosecutor Rajat Ranjan Khatua, who conducted the case on behalf of the state.
The incident took place in November 2019, when Bibhuti Bhushan Pujari, a resident of Sonpur district, was traveling in a train toward Titilagarh after arriving from Pune. While aboard, the gang confronted Pujari, falsely accusing him of smuggling ganja. The men physically assaulted him on the train before forcibly dragging him out near Terapalli station and driving off in an SUV. Pujari was moved to a secluded forest area where he was subjected to brutal torture. The perpetrators subsequently contacted his father, Panchanan Pujari, demanding a ransom of Rs 10 lakh for his safe return.
Following a complaint, Rayagada police launched an investigation and traced and rescued Pujari from a location near Barijhola.