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Bhubaneswar, Oct 30 (IANS) A local court in Bargarh district on Thursday sentenced a man to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment for repeatedly sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl on the pretext of marriage in 2022 in Paikmal police station area.
The convict, identified as Saroj Bariha (21), was found guilty under section 376 (2) (n) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and section 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses (POCSO) Act.
According to reports, on February 21, 2022, the minor victim appeared at the Paikmal police station along with her parents and lodged a written report alleging that Saroj Bariha, a resident of her village, repeatedly sexually assaulted her for more than a year between February 2021 and January 2022 by falsely promising marriage.
It was further said that when the victim became pregnant, the accused Saroj ran away from the village and also switched off his mobile phone.
Later the victim told this to her mother and a meeting was also held in the village on this issue, but the parents of accused Saroj did not take any step to provide shelter to the victim, so they reported the case to Paikmal Police Station to take necessary legal action against accused Saroj.
After the FIR was registered, Bargarh police arrested the accused Saroj on 27 June 2022.
After examining various exhibits and other evidence, the court on Thursday found Saroj guilty of sexually assaulting a minor girl and sentenced him to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment.
The court also directed the District Legal Services Authority to provide financial compensation of Rs 11 lakh to the victim under the Victim Compensation Scheme.
In another significant judgment in the POCSO case, a local court in Angul district on Wednesday sentenced a 20-year-old youth to 25 years of rigorous imprisonment for sexually assaulting his sister-in-law’s eight-year-old daughter on August 19, 2024.
–IANS
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