SAMBALPUR: The additional sessions judge-cum-special court under the POCSO Act in Sambalpur on Saturday sentenced a 28-year-old man to 20 years of imprisonment for sexually assaulting a minor in 2024.
The court also imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 on the convict, Hemanta Oram of Rengali area. The court convicted him under section 6 of the POCSO Act and section 351(3) of the BNS.
The incident came to light after the father of the 19-year-old survivor lodged a complaint at Rengali police station in September 2025. According to the complaint, the accused developed a relationship with the the then minor survivor and repeatedly sexually assaulted her in 2024, while led to her pregnancy. The family came to know about the incident when she was admitted to the hospital at an advanced stage of pregnancy. The survivor delivered a baby girl on September 8 last year.
The prosecution examined 35 witnesses and produced documentary as well as scientific evidence. The DNA analysis conducted by the State Forensic Science Laboratory established that the accused could not be excluded as the biological father of the child born to the survivor. Invoking the statutory presumptions under sections 29 and 30 of the POCSO Act, the court concluded that he failed to rebut the evidence placed on record.