Balasore: Special Judge (POCSO) Ranjan Kumar Sutar Monday sentenced a youth to undergo 20 years of rigorous imprisonment (RI) for kidnapping and raping a minor girl.
The POCSO court further ordered a penalty of Rs 5,000 along with the imprisonment and said the convict would further undergo another 2 years jail term in case he failed to pay the penalty amount.
The mother of the victim lodged an FIR with Basta police in November 2022 alleging that accused Rajib Lochan Das, 28, resident of Similipal village under Singla Police Station kidnapped and sexually assaulted her daughter several times after blackmailing the victim.
The accused Das was a close relative of their family and finding an opportunity he committed the crime, she alleged.
The accused was arrested and tried under several sections of IPC and POCSO Act by the court.
The court after examining 16 witnesses and 36 exhibits awarded different jail terms and penalties which would run concurrently. The court further ordered Rs 4 lakh compensation to the victim to be given through the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA), Special Public Prosecutor Pranab Panda said.
UNI