Keonjhar: Additional District-cum Special POCSO Court Judge Shubhashree Tripathi convicted two persons for raping a minor and sentenced each of them to 30 years of rigorous imprisonment in Keonjhar district Thursday.
The two convicts have been identified as Sk Shahzad Ali (53) and Amita Karua (46). Incidentally, the latter is the stepgrandmother of the victim. The court also imposed fines of Rs30,000 on Ali and Rs20,000 on Karua. Failure to pay the fines will lead to an additional three years in prison for Ali and two for Karua.
According to information available, the victim was living with her grandparents when she was raped.Incidentally, the victim’s grandfather had married a second time and hence Karua became the stepgrandmother of the victim.
When the victim’s grandfather was not present in the house June 22, 2018, Ali raped her and threatened her with dire consequences if she disclosed the matter. Karua helped him in committing the heinous act. Ali repeated the crime a number of times in the following months.
However, the two were taken into custody when the victim complained to the Joda police station October 27, 2018. Police arrested Ali and Karua and registered two separate cases against them.
PNN