A POCSO court in Odisha’s Ganjam district sentenced a man to 20 years rigorous imprisonment for kidnapping and raping a 16-year-old girl about three years ago.
Pravat Kumar Rajguru, judge of the special court set up under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act at Berhampur convicted the accused and pronounced the judgment on Monday, said special public prosecutor Narayan Panda.
The court has also imposed a Rs 15,000 fine on the accused person, identified as Ajaya Nayak.
The court pronounced the judgment after examining and recording the statements of 13 witnesses, including police, and doctor and based on the medical reports, Panda said.
The court, however, acquitted two female relatives of the accused, due to lack of evidence, he added.
The judge also recommended payment of compensation of Rs 5 lakh to the victim through the district legal service authorities (DLSA).
According to the prosecution, the police had registered a case against the accused person along with the two women under different sections of the IPC and POCSO Act in October 2020, after the victim’s mother lodged an FIR against the accused.
After kidnapping her, the accused took her to the house of one of his sisters-in-law and then to one of his relatives. During the investigation, police rescued the victim and arrested the accused.
