Bhubaneswar: A man was sentenced to 20 years in imprisonment by a POCSO court on Thursday, July 10, for raping a 17-year-old girl five years ago, according to a government lawyer.
Special Public Prosecutor Rajib Sasmal stated that Special POCSO Court Judge Saroj Kumar Sahoo also imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 on Raja Mallick (21) after the latter was convicted in the rape case.
Special POCSO Court Judge also ordered that in case Mallick fails to pay the fine, he will face an additional three months in jail.
The verdict was delivered following the examination of 14 witnesses and 73 documents, Sasmal confirmed.
The special public prosecutor added that the court has instructed the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA), Khurda, to provide Rs 3.5 lakh in compensation to the survivor.
As per the prosecution, the survivor and the convict knew each other and were in a relationship.
On July 18, 2020, Raja abducted the girl under the false promise of marriage and subsequently raped her. The girl’s family reported the incident to Khandagiri police station. Police investigation led to the girl’s rescue on October 24 of the same year, and the accused was arrested on October 27 from Bhubaneswar’s Baramunda area.
