PURI: The Additional District and Sessions Judge, Special Court under POCSO Act, Puri, Ramnath Panda on Thursday awarded 10 years of rigourous imprisonment to a 44-year-old man for raping a 16-year-old girl in 2019.
The convict Narayan Mallick was also imposed a fine of Rs 20,000. The court also directed the district legal service authority to pay a compensation of `7 lakh to the victim.
According to the prosecution, on July 8, 2019, the minor girl from Keonjhar had come to Puri on bus from Bhubaneswar. From her earlier visit to Puri, she had got acquainted with Mallick, the helper of the bus, and exchanged phone numbers. On July 8, she had informed the helper about her visit, and boarded the bus to reach Puri at around 8 pm in the evening.
After all the passengers got off the bus, Mallick brought some snacks for the the girl to eat. Later at night, he raped her inside the bus. After the horrific crime, the girl came out of the bus crying and was noticed by locals who informed the police.
Kumbharpara police reached the spot and sent the victim to district headquarter hospital (DHH) for treatment and arrested the helper Mallick.
A chargesheet was filed under 376 (ii) (f)(k) against the accused to start trial in the court. Additional public prosecutor B Parida conducted the case on behalf of the government.