JAJPUR: A court on Monday sentenced a 29-year-old man to life imprisonment in the sensational murder case of Rama Devi University student Jharaphula Nayak five years ago.
Jajpur Additional District and Sessions Judge Biswseswar Biswa Prakash Ray awarded life imprisonment to Rakesh Kumar Swain and imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh on him. Failure to pay the fine will result in additional jail term of one year.
The court also sentenced Swain’s associate Amaresh Rout to five years of imprisonment for destroying evidence. Another accused in the case, Shakti Sekhar Swain, was acquitted by the court.
According to the prosecution, 21-year-old Jharaphula, a resident of Maundeipasi village under Jashipur police limits in Mayurbhanj district, was found dead by the roadside at Mulapala chowk in Kuakhia area of Jajpur on January 27, 2021.
During investigation, police found that Swain had killed Jharaphula, a Plus Three third year student of RD University, in a hotel in Bhubaneswar on January 26, 2021. Later, Swain with the help of Rout carried the girl’s body on a two-wheeler from Bhubaneswar and dumped it at a roadside near Mulapala chhak.
As per case records, Jharaphula was killed over Rs 30,000 which Swain had borrowed from her to buy a motorcycle. She had later asked Swain to return the money.
Special public prosecutor Sitanshu Sekhar Mohanty said based on the testimony of 22 witnesses examined during the trial, the court convicted Swain of the murder and his aide Rout for assisting him in destroying evidence.
The court also directed the district legal cell authority to pay Rs 5 lakh compensation to the parents of Jharaphula.