Berhampur (Odisha), March 26 A POCSO court here on Thursday sentenced a man to death for sexually assaulting a 10-year-old girl in Odisha's Ganjam district five years ago.
Describing the crime as falling in the "rarest of rare" category, fast-track court judge Rohit Lal Panda delivered the verdict after examining 13 witnesses, special public prosecutor Siba Prasad Mishra said.
According to the prosecution, 31-year-old Kesab Nahak, a distant relative of the victim, lured the girl with chocolates on September 21, 2021, and took her to an isolated place where he sexually assaulted her and attacked her with a stick. He later allegedly attempted to kill her by throttling, police said.
Some children who were playing nearby saw the victim lying on the roadside and informed her family members.
The incident took place at a village within the Polasara police station limits in Ganjam district, police said.
The victim was first admitted to a hospital in Polsara and then shifted to MKCG Medical College and Hospital here.
The victim underwent treatment in the intensive care unit of the paediatric department of the medical college and hospital for nearly a month, they said.
Such a heinous crime deserved to be treated as "rarest of rare" case and a death sentence to the convict is a welcome judgment, Mishra said.
