7-Yr‑Old’s Killer Sentenced to Life in Ganjam Dist

Odishabarta

Berhampur: A grim closure to a case that shocked Odisha in 2019 happend on Friday as a district court in Ganjam district on Friday sentenced Debasish Panda to life imprisonment for the abduction and murder of seven‑year‑old Ansuman, son of Nirupama Acharya.

The First Additional District and Sessions Court found sufficient evidence to convict Panda, whose crime stemmed from a one‑sided romantic obsession with the child’s mother. After his advances were rejected, Panda targeted her son in a brutal act of revenge.

On January 2019, Panda lured the Class I student onto his two‑wheeler, claiming he would drop him at school. Instead, he took the boy near the Tara Tarini hill shrine, where he crushed his head with a stone and dumped the body near the foothills to destroy evidence.

Police recovered the child’s school bag, identity card and blood‑stained shirt during the search, eventually arresting Panda in Sonepur. During interrogation, he confessed to the crime.

The decomposed body was later recovered, sparking widespread outrage across the state.

The conviction brings closure to a case that highlighted the vulnerability of children and the devastating consequences of crimes driven by obsession and revenge.

#agencies

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