Bhubaneswar: In a swift delivery of justice, a man was sentenced to life imprisonment by a Special POCSO court in Odisha’s Jharsuguda on Wednesday, 99 days after he sexually assaulted a visually-challenged minor girl.
Additional Judge of the POCSO court convicted the accused under Section 64(2)(k) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Section 6 of the POCSO Act on the basis of medico-legal evidence and clinching proof in the chargesheet. The court also slapped a fine of Rs 10,000 on him.
The incident took place on May 2 when the girl paid a visit to the accused in the neighbourhood while her parents were asleep. The accused was arrested six days later and police filed a chargesheet on May 28. Police relied on modern scientific techniques like DNA analysis and forensic evidence to make it a foolproof case and ensure conviction of the perpetrator.
The court also directed the District Legal Services Authority to provide Rs 10.50 lakh in compensation to the survivor.
