In a shocking case of blatant violation of judicial order, a self-proclaimed village court in Odisha has slapped penalty of Rs 2.5 lakh on an old man while convicting him of raping a divyang girl.
The Kangaroo court in Kalimela of Malkangiri district has imposed the hefty fine on the old man and ordered him to pay the penalty at any cost.
As per reports, a divyang girl of the village gave birth to a baby boy recently. Though, the convict, who raped the girl, has not been ascertained, the village court convicted a local elderly man of raping the helpless girl and imposed a fine of Rs 2.5 lakh on him. The villagers have also ruled that the man shall take full responsibility of the newborn baby.
Sources said, the man accused of rape charges has paid a fine of Rs 50,000 so far but has pleaded innocence about his alleged involvement in the case.
“I am innocent and I have no involvement with the rape case. Someone else has raped the divyang girl. But the Kangaroo Court convicted me and imposed a hefty fine on me due to some past enmity,” said the accused.
“They also tied me to a tree and thrashed me mercilessly for denying my involvement in the case. They are forcing me to accept the verdict. I am not the father of the newborn and it could be confirmed by a DNA Test,” he said.
Meanwhile, Kalimela Child Development Project Officer (CDPO) Annapurna Buruda visited the village and met the victim.
“Anganwadi workers in the village alleged that they were not allowed to officially register the child delivery by the girl. We have recorded the statement of few people in the area. Stern action will be taken against the culprits,” said Buruda.
Notably, no complaint in this connection has been lodged in the nearby police station so far.
(Edited by Suryakant Jena)