Keonjhar: In a significant judgment, a POCSO court in Keonjhar district has sentenced a coaching centre owner to rigorous imprisonment for sexually assaulting a seven-year-old girl student.

The court of Additional District Judge-cum-Special Judge (POCSO), Monali Samanti, awarded the accused 20 years of rigorous imprisonment along with a fine of ₹2,000. In case of non-payment of the fine, he will have to undergo an additional one year of imprisonment.

The court also directed the victim be provided compensation of ₹10 lakh.

According to government counsel Sanjay Kumar Paikray, the incident occurred in August 2025 in the Harichandanpur area, where the accused, identified as Gautam Mohanty, was running a coaching centre. He allegedly sexually assaulted a minor girl who was a student at his institute.

The matter came to light after the victim’s family became aware of the incident. A village meeting was reportedly convened, during which the accused was questioned and is alleged to have admitted to the crime.

Subsequently, the victim’s family lodged a written complaint at the Harichandanpur police station. Police registered a case and arrested the accused.

During the trial, the court examined statements from 15 witnesses and considered the evidence presented before pronouncing the accused guilty.

Based on the findings, the court delivered the verdict today.