Twenty-two-year-old gets first death sentence for POCSO offence in Odisha

The rape and murder occurred in January in Angul district. The victim, a 13-year-old girl, was accosted by the man, who then dragged her to a forested area, where she was raped and murdered.

After a day-to-day basis trial, the court called the crime “rarest of the rare”, citing that the rape took place before and after death, and pointing to the use of a stone to assault the victim’s head to render her unconscious and then kill her.

Angul SP Mitrabhanu Mahapatra told The Sunday Express, “The conviction was possible on account of rigorous police work. The accused had fled to Kolkata by climbing into a heavy goods carrier. However, he was caught due to technical surveillance by the police after he placed a call from his phone.

“We guarded the spot where the killing took place and collected biological evidence through a scientific officer… This was done in the presence of a magistrate and therefore the evidentiary value was strong in this case.”