Baripada: The Additional District and Sessions Court-cum-Special Fast Track Court, Baripada in Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district convicted a 35-year-old man for raping a minor girl in 2019 and sentenced him to life imprisonment Saturday.
Judge Santosh Kumar Nayak also slapped a fine of `5,000 on the convict Kamal Lochan Singh alias Chhota. On default, Singh has to undergo imprisonment for one more year, the court ruled in its order.
The court has ordered the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) to pay a compensation of Rs 6 lakh to the victim.
According to the case diary, the convict, a resident of Nua Sahi in Deulia village under Badasahi police limits had committed the crime January 15, 2019. Finding the victim alone he asked her to come with him under the pretext of buying her a packet of biscuits. Singh raped the minor girl in a forest near her home and fled the spot leaving her in a critical condition. However, the victim somehow managed to return home and narrated her ordeal to her family.
Acting on a complaint by victim’s mother, Badasahi police lodged a case (10/19), arrested the accused and forwarded him to court.
The judge pronounced the verdict after hearing from all witnesses and going through the police and medical reports, informed Public Prosecutor Manoranjan Pattnayak.
PNN