The Sambalpur district judge convicted a person on Monday for raping and murdering a minor girl, within a month of the incident. The judgment would be pronounced on 3rd October. “The accused was found guilty of all charges filed against him by the police,” public prosecutor Atratran Mishra said. The case was taken up by district judge B P Routray because it was special in nature.
Sources said the accused, Pradeep Dalai (35) had raped and murdered the 7-yr-old girl in Sambalpur town on 3rd September. Pradeep was known to the victim’s family because he was a frequent visitor to their neighbour’s family in the town’s Tanlapara area. On that fateful evening, he had taken the child, Urmila Nag, a Class II student of Jharuapara UP school, for a chowmein treat. The victim remained untraced till next morning and police recovered her body from inside a park. They arrested the accused and remanded him in judicial custody for kidnapping, raping and killing the minor.
