A POCSO court in Odisha’s Balasore district has sentenced a 28-year-old man to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment for kidnapping and raping his minor niece a year ago.
The court also imposed a penalty of Rs 5,000 on him.
POCSO court judge Ranjan Kumar Sutar also ordered another two years of jail term for the convict in case he fails to pay the penalty amount.
The mother of the minor had lodged an FIR at Basta Police Station in November 2022, alleging that Rajib Lochan Das kidnapped and raped her daughter several times.
The man was arrested and tried under several sections of the IPC and the POCSO Act.
Special Public Prosecutor Pranab Panda said the accused was tried under several sections of the IPC and the POCSO Act by the court.
"After examining 16 witnesses and 36 exhibits, the court sentenced the convict to 20 years of jail term and imposed Rs 5,000 penalty. The court ordered Rs 4 lakh compensation to the victim to be given through the District Legal Services Authority," he said on Monday.
In another case, a court in Kendrapara has sentenced a 45-year-old man to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment for raping a woman nine years ago.
After examining the DNA test report, statements of the victim and 13 witnesses, the Kendrapara fast track special court additional district and sessions judge Tribikram Keshari Chinhara has convicted Tapan Kumar Sahoo in the rape case.
The court also imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 on the convict, public prosecutor Sanjay Jena said, adding that in default, he will have to undergo imprisonment for another year.
The woman of a village under the Patkura Police Station limits had given birth to a child in 2015 but after the DNA test, it was proved that the accused was the biological father of the boy, the prosecutor said.
The victim had filed an FIR in Patkura Police Station in 2014, alleging that she was raped by the man when she was alone in her house.
-With PTI Input
