Sambalpur: A local court Thursday awarded life imprisonment to five persons after convicting them of raping a student of GM College two years ago here.
District and sessions judge Dipti Mahapatra also imposed a penalty of `2 lakh each on the convicts – Bishnu Kishan (22), Muna Oram (19), Prasant Dandsena (36), Ranjan Oram (22) and Jaymangal Pradhan. They would undergo an additional two-year jail term, if they default on the fine, the court ruled. They were found guilty under Section 376 D and Section C of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012.
Another convict in the case Sunil Mirda was sentenced to three years of rigorous imprisonment by the court. A penalty of `2 lakh was also imposed on him, in default of which he would undergo an additional six-month jail term. He was found guilty under Sections 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt), 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation) and 341 (punishment for wrongful restraint) of IPC.
Samir Pradhan was acquitted for want of evidence.
The case of a minor boy, who was also involved in the incident, is still pending.
According to the case diary, the incident occurred July 22, 2014. The minor girl along with a male friend had been for a picnic to Hirakud dyke.
Bishnu of Balabaspur along with the four others assaulted the girl’s friend and kidnapped her. They took her to an isolated place where they committed the heinous crime.
Bishnu first raped the girl while the minor boy recorded the act on his mobile phone.
The girl, however, did not reveal the incident to anyone fearing social stigma. However, Bishnu again reached her college and threatened to upload the recorded video clip on social media platforms if she declined to have physical relationship with him.
As the girl refused to have physical relationship with Bishnu, the latter along with Sunil circulated the video on mobile phones. The girl narrated her ordeal before her family members after the incident became public. Her family lodged a complaint with police.
Police registered a case and arrested the accused.
The judge pronounced the verdict after examining the statements of 26 witnesses in the case. The money collected as penalty from the convicts would be given to the victim as compensation, the court ruled. PNN