Kataka: A court in Kataka has sentenced a 36-year-old man to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment for kidnapping and raping a 16-year-old girl whom he allegedly lured from Chennai railway station with the promise of a job.
Additional District and Sessions Judge (FTSC) Sabita Das also imposed a fine of ₹1.35 lakh on the convict, Pramod Kumar Nayak, alias Jara alias Jada, a resident of the Bansada police station area in Bhadrak district.
The court convicted him under Sections 137(2), 87, 65 and 140(3) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Section 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
The judgment stipulates that failure to pay the fine would entail an additional year of imprisonment. The court further directed that the victim be paid ₹5 lakh as compensation, while the fine amount, if realised, would also be handed over to her.
According to the case records, Nishchintakoili police rescued the minor girl and produced her before the Kataka Child Welfare Committee (CWC). Following the committee’s directions, she was placed at the Basundhara Open Shelter in Bidanasi.
When her health deteriorated, she was taken to a hospital, where medical examination revealed that she was pregnant.
The girl subsequently disclosed that she had been waiting at Chennai railway station when a man allegedly lured her with the promise of employment, brought her to Odisha, forced her to consume alcohol and sexually assaulted her.
Following the disclosure, the coordinator of the Basundhara shelter lodged a complaint at Bidanasi police station on December 30, 2025.
Police arrested Nayak on January 7 and filed the chargesheet before the court on February 19.
Special Public Prosecutor Mihir Shekhar Sahu represented the government during the trial.
