Kendrapada: Additional district-cum-special judge (Pocso), Jajpur, on Saturday sentenced a 36-year-old man to 10 years of imprisonment for kidnapping and raping a 14-year-old girl six years ago.
The court also imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 on the convict, Chandra Mukhi. Failure to pay the fine would result in his sentence being increased by three months.
The court also directed the Odisha State Legal Services Authority (OSLSA) to pay a compensation of Rs 3 lakh to the girl under the govt scheme.
According to the case records, the girl was kidnapped by Chandra on June 4, 2018, evening when she was returning home after attending a tuition class. He raped her her after tying her hands and legs, in a house where the owner was not present.
After committing the crime, the accused locked her in the house and fled the scene. The owner returned on June 5, 2018, and found the girl. He immediately informed the police.
The girl’s mother filed a complaint with the police on the same day alleging her daughter was kidnapped by Chandra, a neighbour.
Police charged Chandra under sections 376(2n) (rape), 363 (punishment for kidnapping) and 342 (wrongful confinement) of the IPC and Section 6 of the Pocso Act, 2012.
“Judge Bijay Kumar Jena pronounced the verdict on the basis of testimonies of 13 witnesses, including the girl and the medical report,” said Rajendra Prasad Nayak, special public prosecutor.