BARGARH: In a landmark judgement, the Padampur POCSO Court in Bargarh on Tuesday sentenced a 25-year-old youth to death for the rape and murder of a six-year-old minor girl that had sent shockwaves in the region in 2024.
Accused Prashant Bag was found guilty under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. The court held that the prosecution proved the charges beyond reasonable doubt. The district legal services authority (DLSA) was directed to pay `15 lakh to the family of the victim.
During probe, police relied on DNA profiling, forensic evidence and advanced scientific methods to establish Bag’s guilt. The prosecution examined as many as 37 witnesses. Pronouncing the verdict based on oral testimonies and corroborative forensic evidence, the court held him guilty, describing the crime as ‘rarest of rare’ cases, warranting the harshest punishment.
The incident had occurred on November 15, 2024 in Soda village under Paikmal police limits of Bargarh district. Bag had lured the minor girl from her house on the pretext of taking her out for fishing but instead took her to a nearby forest where he raped her and later bludgeoned her to death with a rock.
After the incident came to light, family members of the victim lodged a complaint following which police registered a case, arrested the accused and began investigation.
The probe was conducted under the supervision of Bargarh SP, Prahlad Sahai Meena. The investigation was carried out by the then Paikmal inspector Mamata Naik, while special public prosecutor Dyutish Acharya conducted the prosecution during the trial.
Special public prosecutor Acharya said based on the evidence on record, the court convicted Bag under sections 140(1), 103, 65(2) and 66 of the BNS and section 6 of the POCSO Act, awarding death sentence along with life imprisonment.
DGP YB Khurania congratulated the Bargarh district police team, the investigating officer and the public prosecutor for effectively handling the case, and expressed satisfaction over the timely completion of investigation and trial.
IG (Northern Range) Himansu Lal said the case was handled within a compressed timeline. “The chargesheet was filed within 27 days and Bargarh SP personally supervised the investigation. We are committed to a zero-tolerance approach towards such crimes,” he added.
SP Meena said cases relating to crimes against women and children are now being investigated and tried in a time-bound manner, leading to a higher conviction rate.