Keonjhar: A fast-track court in Keonjhar on Wednesday sentenced a 30-year-old man to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment for raping an 11-year-old girl in Oct last year.
Judge Bijay Kumar Mishra also imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 on the convict, with an additional six months of imprisonment in case he defaults. The court has recommended the district legal services authority to provide a compensation of Rs 7 lakh to the girl.
Special public prosecutor Gyanendra Nath Jena said the convict lured the minor girl from her house on the pretext of sightseeing on Oct 4, 2022. He then took her to a secluded place where he sexually assaulted her and abandoned her there. He later visited the girl’s house and claimed that she had gone missing during their journey.
The girl was eventually found by her family and learned about the assault from her. Subsequently, the girl’s mother filed a police complaint. “The judge pronounced the verdict based on the statements of 19 witnesses and the police investigation report,” said Jena.