Baripada: A special POCSO court in Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district Friday sentenced a man to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment for raping a 12-year-old girl four years ago.
Special POCSO court judge Pratima Patra held 23-year-old Balaram Munda guilty of the crime and also imposed a penalty of Rs 50,000 on him, Special Public Prosecutor Abhinna Kumar Pattnaik said.
He said the court also directed the Mayurbhanj District Legal Services Authority to pay Rs 7 lakh to the survivor as compensation.
According to the prosecution, the incident took place November 23, 2021, when the girl was returning home after shopping. Munda forcibly abducted and raped her in a secluded area under the Jamada police station.
Following the incident, the girl’s father lodged a complaint at Jamda police station, and a case was registered under Section 6(1) of the POCSO Act, 376(AB),294 IPC and the accused was arrested.
The judgment was based on the statement of the girl, 17 witnesses and the medical report, Pattnaik said.
