SAMBALPUR: The special POCSO court in Sambalpur on Thursday sentenced an elderly man to 20 years rigorous imprisonment for raping a five-year-old girl at a village within Jamankira police limits of Sambalpur district.
As per reports, on October 23, 2022, the victim, along with her younger sister was playing near a haystack when Brahma Khadia (60) of the village raped her at a spot nearby. The father of the victim who while returning from his farm caught Brahma in the act and rescued his daughter but the latter managed to flee.
Subsequently, the victim’s father called a village meeting and sought stringent action against Brahma who arrived at the meeting and created a ruckus. The girl’s father then filed an FIR at Jamankira police station following which Brahma was arrested and booked under relevant sections of OPC and section 6 of POCSO Act.
The court on Thursday sentenced Brahma to 20 years rigorous imprisonment along with a fine of Rs 1 lakh. In failure to pay the penalty, Brahma will have to undergo six more months of imprisonment. The sentences will run concurrently. The judgement was delivered by Special Judge (POCSO) Abhilash Senapati after recording the testimonies of 17 witnesses. The case was represented by special public prosecutor Santosh Panda.