Nayagarh: The Special Children Court in Odisha’s Nayagarh on Tuesday sentenced the accused in the sensational Pari murder case to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment.
The court has also imposed a fine of Rs 6,000 on the accused. In the case of non-payment of the fine amount, he will have to undergo additional imprisonment of one year.
“During investigation, various scientific, electronic and circumstantial evidence were collected. There was no eyewitness of the crime. As many as 31 persons were examined during the trial. A total of 135 exhibits and 18 material objects used in the offence were submitted before the court. On the basis of these, Special Children Court held him guilty and sentenced him to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment under Section 6 of POCSO Act and Section 376 of the IPC, 20 years of rigorous imprisonment under 302 of the IPC and three years of imprisonment each under Sections 363 and 201 of the IPC,” the public prosecutor said.
The accused is likely to appeal against the ruling in High Court. “We have not received the judgement copy yet so we can’t say anything now. But we know the five golden principles under circumstantial evidence have not been proved,” his lawyer told the media.
Notably, 5-year-old Pari, daughter of rickshaw-puller Ashok Sahu, was kidnapped while playing near her house in Nayagarh’s Jadupur village on July 14, 2020. Ten days later, her skeletal remains were found dumped in a gunny bag in the bushes behind her house.
The case grabbed the limelight after Pari’s parents attempted self-immolation in front of the state Assembly in Bhubaneswar on November 24, 2020.
In December 2020, the special investigation team (SIT) constituted by the state government to probe the kidnapping and murder of five-year-old arrested the main accused, apparently a juvenile.
Detailing the evidence obtained during the investigation then, Arun Bothra, who led the SIT, said Pari had gone to the house of the accused, about 100 metre away from her’s, around 10.30 am on July 14, 2020, to collect berries. He was alone in his house as his mother and sister had left for their offices. He then took her to a room and removed her frock. Later, when he was about to remove her leggings, she resisted and started to scream. As she opposed the act, he strangulated her to death.
A chargesheet was earlier filed under Sections 376 A and B, 363, 364, 302, 201 of Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 6 of POCSO Act against the accused, who had reportedly confessed to having strangled the girl to death after the failed bid to rape her.
