Bhubaneswar, May 19 (IANS) A court in Odisha’s Bargarh district on Monday sentenced a 42-year-old person to undergo Rigorous Imprisonment for life after finding him guilty of sexually abusing his own minor daughter.

The convict identified as Ganesh Seth is a resident of Bargarh town police station area.

Seth has also been asked by the court to pay a fine of Rs 20,000. Special Public Prosecutor Dyutish Acharya told IANS that Seth, father to a 12-year-old daughter and an 8-year-old son, got married again following the passing of his first wife some years ago.

“The convict in connivance with the step mother used to inflict torture on the two minors. He also repeatedly raped his 12-year-old daughter threatening her to not divulge it before anyone. Meanwhile, the minor victim after failing to bear with the abuse revealed her ordeal before the cook of her village school. The lady cook along with her husband took the victim to district Childline who sought the help of police,” added SPP Acharya.

The Bargarh town police registered a case against the convict and the accused step mother under various sections of IPC and POCSO Act on February 22, 2020.

The convict Seth was arrested by police after a couple days from his hideout while the accused stepmother of the victim is still at large. The court after hearing the testimonies of 18 witnesses and scrutiny of the documentary evidence including the medical report declared Seth guilty.

The court on Monday pronounced the judgement.

Acharya further revealed that as per the court’s directions, Seth has to spend the remainder of his life in jail without any remission.

The court has asked the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) of Bargarh to pay a compensation of Rs 10 lakh to the victim for her rehabilitation and resettlement.

In another case, a court in Mayurbhanj district on Monday awarded life imprisonment to a 32-year-old Hemendra Naik for raping an 11-year-old girl in Jashipur area of Mayurbhanj district in 2024.

As per reports, the victim had gone to the local market near her village along with her younger sister on June 4, 2024. The convict who came across the minor siblings sent back the younger sister of the victim to their house.

He later took the victim to a nearby isolated place and sexually abused her. Upon getting informed by the younger sibling, the victim’s mother rushed to the crime scene and rescued the injured victim who lodged a complaint with the police the next day. Police later arrested the accused on June 7, 2024 registering a case in this regard.

The court on Monday pronounced the judgement and also asked the DLSA, Mayurbhanj to pay Rs 3 lakh to the victim as compensation.

–IANS

gyan/pgh