Balasore: Special Judge POCSO Ranjan Kumar Sutar Thursday convicted a rape accused and sentenced him to 20 years of Rigorous Imprisonment with a penalty of Rs 5,000.
The court further ordered two more years of RI in case of default in paying the fine amount.
According to the prosecution Tanmay Dhopal, the convict of Bishnupur village under Gopalpur police station limits had allegedly sexually assaulted a 14-year-old minor girl of the same village alluring her with different means.
The victim became pregnant and her mother after knowing it lodged an FIR with the police in November 2023 against Tanmay.
The accused was arrested and tried under various sections of the IPC and POCSO Act.
The court after examining 13 witnesses and 18 exhibits pronounced the verdict, Special Public Prosecutor Pranab Kumar Panda said.
UNI