Keonjhar: A Fast Track Court here Wednesday handed down 20 years of imprisonment to a youth after convicting him for the rape of a 14-year-old girl. The convicted youth was identified as Bijay Kumar Barik, 21, of Nuabeda village under Daitari police limits. Judge Bijay Kumar Mishra of the Fast Track Court convicted and awarded the punishment to Barik under Section 6 of POCSO Act and also slapped a penalty of Rs 10,000 on him.
In default, Barik has to undergo an additional six months of rigorous imprisonment. The judge also directed the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) to give away Rs 5 lakh compensation to the survivor. This was stated by special public prosecutor Gyanendranath Jena to media persons here, Wednesday. The judge passed the order after examining the statements of 20 witnesses and the police chargesheet, Jena added. The incident occurred when the survivor and her friend, riding separate bicycles, visited another friend residing at Brahmanipal, June 15, 2021. When she did not return home after long hours, family members grew apprehensive and searched for her in all possible locations. The same night, they got a phone call.
The caller informed them that the survivor was at Brahmanipal. They tracked the phone number on Truecaller and found it belonging to one Bijay Kumar Barik. They waited for the girl to return in vain and finally complained to Daitari police station, June 17. Daitari police registered a case and rescued the girl from the custody of Barik in Brahmanipal, June 26. Police arrested Barik on a charge of rape of the girl and produced him in court.