E-Paper
Four year old raped in Odisha’s Bhadrak district, ‘rapist’ held
Family members found the girl in a critical condition after a search when she didn’t return home.
A four-year-old girl was allegedly raped by a youth in Odisha’s Bhadrak district while she was returning home from tuition, police said.
Police said the accused Jagannath Das lured the minor girl with a chocolate while she was returning home in Naikanidihi area. The youth then took the girl to an isolated place and raped her.
Family members found the girl in a critical condition after a search when she didn’t return home.
She was admitted to a government hospital in Basudevpur following which a complaint was registered against the youth, who was later detained.
The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act 2018 introduced stringent punishment for sexual offences, including death penalty for raping girls under the age of 12 years. The Amendment in the Code of Criminal Procdure (CrPC) provides 2 months time to complete investigations in such cases.
The NCRB report of 2018 said 1,887 cases were registered in Odisha under the Pocso Act involving 1,895 child victims.
The Odisha government has already declared it would set up 45 fast track courts for the trial of sexual crimes against women and children. Of the 45 new fast track courts, 24 will specifically deal with the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences cases.
