Puri: The Fast Track POCSO Court in Puri on Friday sentenced a man to three years of rigorous imprisonment in a case involving the kidnapping of a minor girl. The court also imposed a fine of ₹10,000 on the convict and directed that ₹2 lakh be provided for the future welfare of the minor.
The convict identified as Rohan Dalai, a resident of Baselii Sahi Bandurga Lane in Puri.
According to the prosecution, the incident took place on 29 November 2024. On the same day, the mother of the minor girl lodged a complaint at Baselii Sahi Police Station, stating that her daughter had gone for tuition but failed to return home. Acting on the complaint, the police launched an investigation and subsequently rescued the minor girl and arrested the accused.
During the investigation, it was revealed that instead of attending tuition classes, the minor girl had gone to Puri beach along with two of her friends to watch an aerial display organised on the occasion of Navy Day. It was during this time that the accused allegedly kidnapped her.
After examining the evidence and hearing the arguments from both sides, Fast Track POCSO Court Judge Ramanath Panda found the accused guilty and pronounced the sentence on Saturday.
The case was prosecuted by government lawyer Madhusudan Das.
