Puri: In a remarkable sequence, three verdicts were pronounced at the Fast Track Special Court in Puri, delivering justice in serious criminal cases involving sexual offences against minors and women as well as a theft case.
In the first case registered at Gadishagoda Police Station in 2016, the accused Ajay alias Ranjan Kumar Bhoi was sentenced to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs. 5,00,000 under IPC Section 376(2)(i) for raping a 13-year-old minor girl. The court also ordered an additional one-month simple imprisonment in case of default in payment of the fine.
Additional Special Judge Ramanath Panda had pronounced the verdict on November 26, 2024. However, the accused had been absconding since then. A non-bailable warrant was issued by the court. Today, a special team of police arrested Bhoi when he was about to flee the state and produced him before the court for execution of the sentence.
In a separate case from Brahmagiri Police Station, accused Pradeep Majhi was sentenced to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment with a fine of Rs. 2,000 under Section 376(2)(i) IPC for sexually assaulting a differently-abled young woman. He was also convicted in another case registered at Brahmagiri Police Station No. 37/2024 and sentenced to 3 years imprisonment with a fine of Rs. 10,000 under Section 354(A) IPC for sexual harassment. The case was effectively handled by Additional Public Prosecutor Madhusudhan Dash on behalf of the prosecution.
Similarly, in the Kakatpur Case No. 5, accused Gagan Bihari Kakral Singh was convicted in a theft case and sentenced to 2 years and 3 months of rigorous imprisonment along with a fine of Rs. 2,000.
