Bhubaneswar, Feb 17 (IANS) A Special POCSO court in Odisha’s Sambalpur, on Tuesday, sentenced two persons to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment (RI) each in two separate cases involving the sexual abuse of minors in the district.

“On November 29, 2025, a 10-year-old girl, who had gone to a shop near her residence to buy a packet of snacks, was returning home when the 55-year-old accused Madhusudan Bagarty, who was seated at his residence, forcibly dragged her inside and raped her,” Special Public Prosecutor Prasanna Kumar Sahoo said.

Sahoo added that the minor victim, upon reaching home, disclosed the ordeal she had endured to her mother, who lodged a complaint at the Dhama Police Station in Sambalpur the next day, without caring for any social stigma.

Subsequently, police arrested the accused Bagarty on December 1, 2025, by registering a case under different sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the POCSO Act.

On Tuesday, the court, after examining witness statements and other evidence, pronounced the judgment, holding Bagarty guilty of committing the crime.

The court delivered the final judgment within just 79 days of the crime.

The court sentenced the convict to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 50,000; in default of payment, the accused will undergo an additional one year of rigorous imprisonment.

The court has also asked the Sambalpur District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) to pay Rs 10 lakh to the victim under the “Odisha Victim Compensation (Amendment) Scheme, 2025”.

According to details in the second case, on May 6, 2022, the 16-year-old victim was alone at her house as her parents had taken her younger brother to a nearby medical facility for treatment.

Meanwhile, taking advantage of the situation, the accused Bhisma Pulei sexually abused the minor.

The victim’s father, after learning about the incident, lodged a case at the Rairakhol Police Station the next day.

The police arrested the accused on May 9, 2022.

After reviewing witness statements and other evidence, the court found Pulei guilty of the crime and delivered its judgment on February 13.

The court sentenced Pulei to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment, holding him guilty under Section 4(2) of the POCSO Act.

The Sambalpur DLSA has also been asked by the court to pay financial compensation of Rs 10 lakh to the victim.

–IANS

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