Brahmapur: A special court in Odisha’s Ganjam district Friday sentenced a man to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment for kidnapping and raping a 15-year-old girl.
The 30-year-old man lured away the class 10 student from her house October 7, 2020, on the pretext of marriage while her parents were away at work, according to the prosecution.
After the girl went missing, her father lodged an FIR at Golanthara police station. She was rescued nearly three months later from a house where she was staying with the accused, who was arrested.
The man was released on bail July 4 this year.
Additional District Judge and Special POCSO Court Judge Pranati Pattnaik imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 on the convict, besides sentencing him to rigorous imprisonment.
The court directed the Ganjam District Legal Services Authority to pay the survivor Rs 6 lakh as compensation. It also ordered that the fine amount, once realised from the convict, be paid to the survivor.
The convict will have to undergo an additional six months’ imprisonment if he fails to pay the fine, Special Public Prosecutor Narayan Panda said.
