Man gets death for minor’s rape, murder bid in Ganjam

Berhampur: A fast-track Pocso court on Thursday awarded death sentence to a 30-year-old man for raping a 10-year-old girl and then trying to kill her. The incident took place in Ganjam district five years back.

This is the second time in three months that an Odisha court has awarded death sentence in a Pocso case.On Jan 6, a Bargarh court had awarded death penalty to a man for a minor girl’s rape and murder in Nov 2024.Describing the Ganjam case as “rarest of rare”, Justice Rohit Lal Panda awarded death after recording the statement of 13 witnesses, special public prosecutor Siba Prasad Mishra said.Sources said the accused is a distant relative of the survivor.

On Sept 21, 2021, the accused offered her chocolate and took her to an isolated place. There he raped her and then tried to kill the girl by throttling her. He then threw her in a desolate spot.Some children playing nearby saw her lying unconscious and informed her family members. She was first admitted in a local hospital and later shifted to MKCG Medical College and Hospital. The girl spent nearly a month in the paediatric ICU before she recovered.“Such a heinous crime deserved to be treated as the rarest case,” said Mishra.