KENDRAPARA: A court in Kendrapara on Tuesday sentenced a 70-year-old man to 20 years of imprisonment for raping a minor girl in Pattamundai last year.
The court also imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 on the convict Batakrushna Sahoo, who is a neighbour of the 9-year-old victim. The incident took place on November 28 last year when the girl was studying in Class III.
The victim’s mother had lodged a complaint alleging that Batakrushna broke into their house when her daughter was alone and sexually assaulted her. The accused also threatened to kill her if she revealed the incident to anyone.
Acting on the complaint, police had registered a case and arrested Batakrushna under multiple sections of the BNS and section 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012.
The court also directed Odisha State Legal Services Authority (OSLSA) to pay a compensation of Rs 6 lakh to the minor victim.