CUTTACK: A special POCSO court here on Wednesday awarded Rs 4 lakh compensation to a minor girl who was kidnapped from a village under Salipur police station in Cuttack district and raped three years ago by a 23-year-old labour contractor.
Presiding judge Ashok Kumar Pahi awarded the compensation while convicting Rajesh Mallick (now 26) for kidnapping and committing the rape, and sentencing him to 20 years rigorous imprisonment.
The judge also directed that the total awarded compensation amount of Rs 4 lakh shall be deposited in the name of the victim in the shape of a term deposit in any nationalised bank for a period of six years. The court also imposed on Rajesh a fine of Rs 21,000.
Special public prosecutor (POCSO) Ramesh Chandra Mohanty said the victim was 17 years old when she was allegedly kidnapped on July 30, 2020. The trial in the case was taken up based on an FIR lodged by the victim’s mother with Salipur police station on August 6, 2020. Rajesh was arrested the next day.