Sambalpur,Aug 26: District and Session court in Sambalpur on Thursday pronounced life sentence to five accused for allegedly raping a college girl in 2014 and circulating Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) clip of the act in the city.
Dipti Mohapatra, District and Session Judge awarded the life sentence to Bishna Kisan, Prashant Dandasena, Ranjan Oram, Muna Oram and Jaya Mangala Pradhan under Sec 376 (D) of IPC and Sec 6 of the POCSO Act.
In addition to that, the five have been sentenced one year’s rigorous imprisonment (RI) under Sec 66 (E) of the IT Act, 2000, three years’ RI and Rs 2 lakh fine each under Sec 67 of the IT Act and Sec 120 B of IPC. On failure to pay the fine they have to undergo another six months of RI, the court ruled.
Similarly, another accused Sunil Mirdha has been sentenced by the court to three years RI under the IT Act.
Besides, accused Samir Pradhan has been acquitted by the court due to lack of evidence while another accused, a minor is facing trial at the Juvenile Justice Board.
Notably, on the fateful day of July 22, 2014, a girl student of a local college of Sambalpur accompanied by her boyfriend had gone on a trip to Jamadarpalli area in an auto-rickshaw. After dropping the two, the auto-rickshaw driver Jayamangal Pradhan went back and informed his friends about the incident. The accused then overpowered the victim’s boyfriend at Jamadarpalli and took turns in raping the girl while making a video clip of the act using a mobile phone.
Despite this, the victim kept silent out of shame. However, later on October 18, 2014 the victim’s family members gathered courage and lodged a complaint with Sambalpur Mahila police following which the accused were arrested and forwarded to court.
