A special POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act) court in Odisha’s Jajpur district has sentenced a youth named Ganeswar Jedy to 20 years in prison for raping a 15-year-old girl in 2023.
The judgment, delivered by Judge Abhijit Palei, also imposed a ₹20,000 fine on the convict and directed the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) to provide ₹2 lakh compensation to the survivor.
According to Public Prosecutor Rajib Mohanty, the accused lured the minor into eloping on a false promise of marriage before holding her hostage and assaulting her multiple times at a friend’s house in Jagatpur. After a missing persons complaint was filed by the girl’s family, a Childline team rescued her at Bhubaneswar railway station while the accused attempted to take her to Hyderabad.
Following a thorough investigation and a trial involving testimony from 16 witnesses, the court found Jedy guilty, sentencing him to two decades behind bars for his crimes.
