Angul: A special POCSO court Wednesday sentenced a man to 20 years in prison for the 2020 kidnapping and rape of a minor girl.
Additional District and Sessions Judge-cum-Judge, special POCSO court, Biranchi Narayan Mishra found Harishankar Behera, a resident of Mahanga in Cuttack district, guilty after reviewing testimony from 15 witnesses.
Special Public Prosecutor Ranjan Kumar Patra and advocate Prashant Kumar Rath represented the state during the proceedings.
According to court records, Behera contacted the victim through a “wrong number” phone call, which led to a relationship.
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Later, Behera lured the girl from her home with a promise of marriage September 2, 2020.
He reportedly took her first to Cuttack and later to a rented house in the Patia area of Bhubaneswar.
Following a complaint filed by the victim’s family, Angul police registered a case and eventually tracked the pair to Patia.
Police rescued the girl and arrested Behera.
In addition to the prison term, the court ordered the district legal services authority (DLSA) to provide Rs 3 lakh in compensation to the victim.
