Berhampur: Berhampur special fast track POCSO court Judge Ganeswar Pati convicted Soumyaranjan Padhi (33) and sentenced him to 20 years rigorous imprisonment for sodomising a minor boy.
The judge also slapped a fine of Rs 60,000 on Padhi. Failure to pay the fine will lead to an additional six months in prison for the accused, the judge said.
As per the information available, the 12-year-old boy belonging to Polasara locality was playing in his school when the accused kidnapped him at around 5:00pm October 14, 2019. He then took the boy on his motorcycle to a cashew orchard and raped the minor. Padhi then forced the boy to go with him to another desolate place and tried sodomising him again. However, when the boy screamed in pain and attracted the attention of the locals, Padhi fled the spot.
Returning home, the boy narrated the ordeal to his father. Subsequently, a case (No 226/19) was registered at Polasara Police Station. Police then arrested Padhi the next day and forwarded him to the court.
The then IIC of Polasara PS, Jitendra Kumar Mallick submitted the chargesheet in court. Padhi however, got conditional bail February 4, 2021. However, when he failed to appear during a hearing, a non-bailable warrant was issued against him. He was again arrested August 11, 2022. The judge pronounced the verdict after hearing seven eyewitnesses and going through the investigation report, special public prosecutor PP Mohan Singari, who appeared for the government in the case, said.
PNN