Bhubaneswar: A POCSO court in Odisha’s Ganjam district today sentenced a 27-year-old man to life imprisonment till death in connection with the rape and murder of a four-year-old girl in April this year.

Accused Kalia Nahak was found guilty under Sections 103(1), 238(a), 137(2), 64(2)(f) and 65(2) of the BNS and Section 6 of the POCSO Act.

The incident took place at Khalingi village in Pattapur area of Ganjam district.

As per the case records, the minor girl went missing from her uncle’s house at Khalingi in the evening of April 25. She was found dead inside an under-construction building in the village the next day.

The police, based on some clues, detained several suspects and interrogated them. Following the analysis of the scientific evidence collected from the crime scene and other evidence, the cops finally arrested Nahak, a distant relative of the victim.

According to police, Nahak frequently enticed the victim with chips and toffees during her visits to her uncle’s house.

Nahak, under the influence of alcohol and after watching porn in his mobile phone, lured the minor girl to an under-construction building in the village on April 25 and raped her.

When the victim screamed and tried to resist, Nahak smothered her to death and hid her body in an interior room of the building, said the police.

The police filed charge sheet against Nahak within 50 days of the occurrence of the crime.  

The court convicted Nahak after examining 20 witnesses and other pieces of evidence gathered by the police during the investigation. The court convicted the accused with in four months (121 days) of the crime.

The court also directed the authorities concerned to provide a compensation of Rs 5 lakh to the victim’s family.