Bhubaneswar, March 19 (IANS) A court in Odisha has sentenced six people to 10 years in prison for kidnapping and raping a Dalit woman in Bargarh district nearly six years ago, a lawyer said on Thursday.
Additional District and Session Judge at Padampur, Sayed Abdul Kadar Zahir Ahmed, on Wednesday also fined them Rs.20,000 each and said the convicts would have to undergo additional two-year jail term in case they fail to pay the amount, special public prosecutor Bhishmadev Saraf told IANS.
The 24-year-old victim was raped at Paikmal village, about 350 km from here, on May 10, 2009.
The incident had created a political storm as the main accused, Mahesh Agarwal, was a leader of the state's Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and was the chief of the local block.
Another accused Kunal Singh Beriha is a nephew of former state minister and senior BJD leader Bijaya Ranjan Singh Beriha.
According to the police, the woman had gone to the block office to enquire about a government job. Agarwal and his associates promised to help her and took her to a godown, where they allegedly raped her.
She was rescued by the police who reached there following a tip-off. The woman's medical examination had confirmed rape. The BJD had suspended Agarwal from the party after the incident.
The crime branch of the state police which investigated the crime later arrested all the six accused.
Pronouncing all the six persons guilty, the judge handed down the sentence to Agrawal, and his associates Sajjan Agrawal, Kunal Singh Beriha, Pintu Pradhan, Kamalesh Srivastav and Gunanidhi Bag, the lawyer said.
India-Sri Lanka Relations: India will help in building an energy hub in Sri Lanka, an agreement made between the two countries
India, working on several fronts regarding energy security, has proposed to make Sri Lanka a hub of renewable energy. It was agreed upon in the meeting between External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar
Virat's quantum jump in ICC rankings: From 29th rank to 15th straight, benefited from excellent performance in Asia Cup
Former India captain Virat Kohli, who returned to form with his blazing batting in the Asia Cup, has benefited a lot. He has jumped 14 places to 15th position in the ICC T20 rankings. At the same
Chinese Army Reaches From Pangong Tso Reaches Rootog Base In Large Number, Satellite Picture Revealed
Open-source intelligence sites have released a satellite image of China's Rootog base. It can be seen how big military infrastructure has been built there. The PLA Army's tanks, armored
Jawan: SRK's 'Jawan' was released in the Handwara Cinema hall of Kashmir, a crowd gathered in the theater to see Shahrukh.
Shahrukh Khan's film Jawan is shaking the box office system these days. The film is earning tremendously and the actor's fans are giving tremendous love to the film. After Pathan, after showing his
Imran Khan's claim - months ago, a conspiracy was hatched to kill me, narrowly saved; 3 bullets were fired from the leg
Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has claimed that the conspiracy to kill him was hatched two months ago. Imran has been injured in the attack during the Lahore to Islamabad Long March. Imran
Earthquake in eastern Indonesia: 5.8 magnitude jolts houses, beach evacuation warnings
A 5.8-magnitude earthquake struck eastern Indonesia on Wednesday, causing cracks in some walls, and residents living along the coast in Maluku province have been asked to move to higher areas.
After the instructions of the Home Minister, the attack on the terrorist network in Kashmir intensified, 4 terrorists were killed in 24 hours - 18 terrorists and helpers were arrested in 72 hours
It has been made clear to the miscreants and terrorists engaged in the conspiracy of target killing in Kashmir and encircling the Amarnath Yatra in a cloud of apprehension that the Modi government
Inflation: Dealing with inflation, which has reached high levels for the last three quarters, test for India, impact on investment
There is no relief from the high inflation in the country for the last 9 months. This is having an impact on consumption and investment. RBI's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) member Shashank Bhide
Lok Sabha Election: Public meeting of these stalwarts including Rajnath-Akhilesh today, campaigning will stop on five seats of Purvanchal
Elections will be held on May 25 in the sixth phase on five Lok Sabha seats in three districts of Purvanchal. The election campaign on these seats will end at 5 pm on Thursday. These five
RBI Monetary Policy Committee special meeting today, reports on inflation will be submitted to the government, suspense on repo rate remains
The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Reserve Bank of India will hold a special meeting on the sidelines of its scheduled meetings on Thursday. In this special meeting, the reasons for inflation
