: The Nayagarh Special Children Court on Tuesday sentenced the accused in the sensational Pari rape and murder case to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment (RI)
The court also imposed a fine on the convict. In default, he would undergo additional imprisonment of one year.
“During investigation, various scientific, electronic and circumstantial evidences were collected. There was no eyewitness of the crime. As many as 31 persons were examined during the trial. A total of 135 exhibits and 18 material objects used in the offence were submitted before the court. On the basis of these, the Special Children Court Judge held him guilty and sentenced him to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment under Section 6 of POCSO Act and Section 376 of the IPC, 20 years of rigorous imprisonment under 302 of the IPC and three years of imprisonment each under Sections 363 and 201 of the IPC,” the Public Prosecutor said.
On the other hand, the convict’s lawyer said he would move the Orissa High Court against the verdict.
“We are not satisfied with this verdict. We will move the Orissa High Court challenging it. Our client is innocent. He has no connection with the crime,” the lawyer said.
As per the Crime Branch, which was investigating the case, the incident had occurred on July 14, 2020 at Jadupur village in the district. The accused took the minor girl to a room when he was alone at his house and tried to rape her. As the girl resisted and started to scream, the accused killed him and dumped the body near a pond in the village, the investigating agency stated.