Odisha court awards lifer to 6 for raping woman in Kalahandi 5 yrs ago

 A court in Odisha's Kalahandi district sentenced six people to life imprisonment for raping a woman five years ago.

Dharamgarh Additional District and Session Judge Suresh Chandra Pradhan pronounced the verdict on Wednesday after examining witnesses and evidence, said public prosecutor Purna Chandra Nag.

The convicted persons are Lalindra Sabar, Labanya Chatria, Anirudha Chatria, Prakash Naik, Santa Naik and Amit Naik.

Three other accused, who had allegedly made a video of the crime viral on social media, were released due to lack of evidence, he said.

According to the public prosecutor, the victim was going home from Bhawanipatna town in September 2019, and at that time, Lalindra Sabar, who was known to the woman, offered her a lift on his motorcycle.

On the way to her residence, the man along with his associates raped the woman in a roadside forest, he said.

They also videographed the crime, and the video clip was made viral on social media, the public prosecutor said.

Later, the Junagarh police registered a case on the basis of a complaint lodged by the parents of the woman and arrested the culprits, he added.