Man sentenced to 20 years jail for raping minor girl in Keonjhar

Keonjhar: A man has been sentenced to 20 years of imprisonment for raping a minor in Balanni police limit of Odisha’s Keonjhar district.

According to sources, the convict, identified as Pratap Kumar Prusty, sexually abused the minor girl in the year 2020. Following the conviction, the Keonjhar District Sessions Court sentenced Pratap with 20 years in prison and ordered to pay a fine of Rs 20,000. In case of failure of giving fine, the imprisonment will increased by one year.

The court has also directed the District Legal Services Authority to pay Rs 7.5 lakh as compensation to the victim. The court imposed punishment on the basis of Section 376 and POCSO Act.

Earlier, in such a same case, Cuttack POCSO Special Court sentenced 20 years of rigorous imprisonment and a financial penalty of Rs 20 thousand to man identified as Gudu Nishad for abducting a minor and raping her in Mumbai.

The court has also directed the District Legal Services Authority to pay Rs 4 lakh as compensation to the victim. The court imposed punishment on the basis of Section 376 and POCSO Act. The judgement was passed after examining 34 documents containing evidence.