A 40-year-old man named Babula Jena has been sentenced to death by a court in Odisha’s Angul district for the brutal murder of a 4-year-old girl after a sexual assault in 2025. The incident took place under the Nisha Industrial Police Station area of the district. Babula Jena, a resident of Dehury Sahi, Jereng village, was found guilty of various offenses under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the POCSO Act.
The tragic event unfolded when the minor victim went missing while playing near her house on March 13, 2025. Despite extensive search efforts, she could not be located, leading her father to file a missing report the next day. Sadly, the child’s body was discovered on March 15, 2025, under a Mahua tree close to her home. The post-mortem examination revealed that the cause of death was neck compression, indicating forcible penetrative sexual assault.
Suspicions arose among locals regarding Babula’s involvement in the crime, given that he was present when the girl went missing. Babula, a mason, was swiftly apprehended on March 17, 2025, just four days after the incident. Investigations revealed that he had kidnapped the minor, sexually assaulted her at his residence, and then murdered her by strangulation before disposing of her body near the village. The court, after reviewing evidence and witness testimonies, delivered the verdict on Friday, finding Babula guilty of the heinous crime.
The court also instructed the Angul District Legal Services Authority to facilitate a Rs 10 lakh compensation to the victim’s parents. Dillip Kumar Das represented the prosecution as the Special Public Prosecutor during the proceedings.
