Cuttack: A special POCSO court here Tuesday sentenced Khokan Maity, a resident of West Medinipur district in West Bengal, to life imprisonment for raping a minor girl on a number of occasions and impregnating her. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 25,000 on the accused. If Khokan fails to pay the amount, he will have to undergo an additional six months behind bars. The victim is a resident of a locality under the Tangi police station in the district and she was raped a number of times in 2019. The advocate of Kokhan informed after the verdict that an appeal will be lodged in a higher court against the verdict.
The POCSO court also directed the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) to provide compensation of Rs 7 lakh to the victim’s family.
Khokon was staying in a house in Tangi locality on rent. The minor girl was staying in another floor of the rented house. Finding her alone in the house one day, Khokon raped her.
Sources said that Kokhan raped the girl multiple times as a result of which the victim became pregnant. Later, he kidnapped her and took the victim to Kolkata. There he threatened to kill the girl, if she disclosed her whereabouts and plight to anyone. He also asked the girl to abort the baby.
Acting on a complaint registered in October, 2019, Tangi police launched an investigation. They traced Kokhan and arrested him from Kolkata.