Berhampur: A man was sentenced to 20 years in jail by a special court in Odisha’s Ganjam district for raping a 14-year-old girl multiple times.
The convict had first raped the girl June 15, 2024, while she was going to take a bath in the village pond. Since then, he had been raping her regularly, threatening not to disclose the matter to anyone.
A case was registered at the Polasara police station May 2 last year when one of her relatives got to know about it.
Besides sentencing the convict to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment, special POCSO court judge Pranati Pattnaik also imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 on him.
He will undergo jail for another six months if he fails to pay the fine amount, said special public prosecutor Narayan Panda.
The court also directed the district legal service authorities to pay Rs 10.50 lakh to the girl, who is an orphan.
The entire fine amount will be paid to the victim after recoveries from the convict, it is directed.
The court pronounced the judgment based on the statements of seven witnesses and the medical reports of the victim.
The 30-year-old man had been in jail since his arrest, as the court had earlier rejected his bail pleas.