CUTTACK: A fast-track ad-hoc Special Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) court here on Monday awarded Rs 7 lakh compensation to a 26-year-old woman, who was raped way back in 2013.
Presiding Judge Ashok Kumar Pahi awarded the compensation keeping in view the facts and circumstances of the case and the age of the victim at the time of occurrence. Owing to rape by the accused, the victim, then aged 15, became pregnant and gave birth to a male child.
The judge awarded the compensation while convicting 69-year-old Shyama Sunder Behera for committing the rape and sentencing him to 14 years of rigorous imprisonment. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 20,000 on Shyama Sunder. The judge directed the secretary of the District Legal Services Authority, Cuttack to ensure compliance with the order relating to compensation to the victim girl.
Special public prosecutor (POCSO) Ramesh Chandra Mohanty led the prosecution with 11 witnesses and 12 documents including the medical reports and chemical examination reports. The incident occurred within Mahanga police station limits. The accused had induced the victim into a physical relationship with her repeatedly and made her pregnant.
The trial was taken up on October 26, 2014, a year after the date of occurrence by the victim. Shyama Sunder was arrested after he surrendered on January 29, 2018. The pre-conviction detention period undergone as a prisoner under trial is set off against the substantive sentence of 14 years, the judge specified in the order of sentence.