Man gets 20-yr jail for kidnapping, raping minor

Kendrapada: The additional district judge-cum-special judge (Pocso), Jajpur, sentenced a 27-year-old man to 20 years of imprisonment on Saturday for kidnapping and raping a 15-year-old girl of a village two years ago.The court also imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 on the convict and failure to pay which would increase his sentence by a year. The court also directed Odisha State Legal Services Authority to pay a compensation of Rs 8 lakh to the survivor.Pronouncing the verdict, judge Abhilash Senapati sentenced the man to 20 years of imprisonment under sections- 363, 366, 376( 2), (n) 376 (3) of IPC and under Section 6 of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act on charges of kidnapping the girl on Feb 28, 2024, and raping her for nearly a month in the district and its nearby areas.The girl’s father had filed a police complaint on Feb 29, 2024, and alleged that the accused kidnapped and raped the minor. Acting on the complaint, the police arrested the accused. Twenty witnesses, including the survivor, deposed in this case in court. After relying on the evidence of witnesses and a medical report, the court convicted the accused, said Srinibash Sahu, the special public prosecutor.