KENDRAPARA: A special POCSO court in Kendrapara on Wednesday sentenced a 35-year-old man to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment for kidnapping and raping a minor girl in a case of 2013.
Additional district judge-cum-special judge (POCSO) Pragyan Paramita Roul also imposed a fine of Rs 60,000 on convict, Kalindi Mallick of Srutipur village within Patkura police limits. Failure to pay the fine would lead to an additional jail term of six months.
The court also directed the Odisha State Legal Services Authority (OSLSA) to pay compensation of Rs 1.5 lakh to the victim under the Odisha Victim Compensation Scheme. Special public prosecutor Manoj Kumar Sahu said the verdict was pronounced based on the statements of nine witnesses and medical report.
The incident had taken place on April 4, 2013. The victim, then aged around 15 years had gone to attend a function near the village when Mallick kidnapped her. Police rescued the girl after a year in Koraput.
As per the FIR lodged by the victim’s father, Kalindi had allegedly kidnapped and sexually assaulted his minor daughter. Acting on the FIR, police arrested Mallick under sections 376(2n), 363, 366 of IPC and section 6 of POCSO Act, 2012.