Cuttack: The Special POCSO court in Cuttack today sentenced a man, Harishchandra Barik to life imprisonment after convicting for the rape of two minor girls in the Cuttack Sadar area in 2020. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 on the convict.
The POCSO court ordered the state government to pay Rs 6 lakh (3 lakhs each) to the two victims as compensation. This compensation amount will be kept in the bank in the name of the victim. The court ordered that the compensation amount will be paid to both the victims through the District Legal Service Authority after they attain the age of 18.
According to the case, the incident took place on the 16th of November 2020 in the Cuttack Sadar’s Urali area. The convict Harishchandra Barik took the minor girls, who happen to be his nieces, to the river on the pretext of bathing and outraged their modesty.
The minor siblings, who were of 12 years and 7 years respectively at that time, informed their parents about their ordeal. On the same day, a complaint was lodged with the Cuttack Sadar Police Station. Following a probe, the police arrested the accused on 18th November 2022. Since then, the accused has been lodged in jail. On 13th January 2021, police filed the charge sheet in this case.
On the basis of statements of 17 witnesses and 15 pieces of evidence, the Cuttack Special POCSO Court convicted Harishchandra Barik for the rape of the two minor girls and sentenced him to life imprisonment. Advocate Ramesh Chandra Mohanty was handling the case on behalf of the state government.
