Odisha Man Sentenced to 10 Years for Raping Paralysed Woman in Bhubaneswar

Bhubaneswar: A Bhubaneswar court on Wednesday sentenced a man to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment (RI) for raping a paralytic woman in the Badagada area two years ago. The Additional Sessions Judge-IV, Bhubaneswar, handed the punishment to Ramesh Jena after convicting him in the 2022 case.

In addition to the prison sentence, the court imposed a fine of Rs 20,000 on the convict. According to case records, Jena had entered the victim’s house when she was alone and bedridden due to illness. A neighbour, Tarakanta Behera, recorded the crime on his mobile phone, leading to the victim’s daughter filing a complaint with the Badagada police on May 8, 2022.

The police charged Jena under Sections 376(2)(j) and 376(2)(i) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), following an investigation. After examining 17 witnesses and reviewing the evidence, the court sentenced Jena to 10 years of RI under both sections, with an additional one-year jail term for non-payment of the Rs 20,000 fine.

All sentences will run concurrently, as Additional Public Prosecutor Surya Narayan Panda confirmed.