BARIPADA: The additional district and sessions judge-cum-presiding officer of special POCSO court of Baripada on Friday sentenced a 23-year-old youth to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment (RI) for the rape of a 12-year-old minor girl in Mayurbhanj.
Balaram Munda of Badakuleibira within Jamda police limits was charged with raping the minor girl on November 23, 2021.
Judge Pratima Patra convicted Balaram and imposed a fine of Rs 50,000. Based on statements of the witnesses and medical report, the court gave the verdict and also ordered secretary of the district legal service authority to provide financial assistance of Rs 7 lakh to the survivor.
Public prosecutor A K Pattanaik said the survivor had gone to the house of her neighbour to bring a mobile phone. When she did not return for over an hour, her parents initiated a search. Subsequently, she returned and told her mother about Balaram forcibly committing rape on her while she was on her way back.
After the incident, the survivor’s father lodged a complaint at Jamda police station following which police registered a case. The accused was arrested on November 24, 2021.