Two get life imprisonment for raping 12 year-old-girl in Cuttack district
Cuttack: A Special Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) court in Cuttack on Monday awarded life imprisonment to two persons for reportedly raping a 12-year-old-girl in Salepur area of the district.
The court convicted the accused persons Manoj Kumar Kandi and Bhubanananda Behera and awarded them the life imprisonment based on the information of 11 witnesses and 18 evidences. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 5000 on each of them.
Apart from sentencing and imposing fine on the duo, the court also directed the District Legal Services Authority to pay a compensation of Rs 5 lakh to the rape victim as per the rules of the government.
According to reports, Manoj and Bhubanananda reportedly raped the girl by taking the advantage of the absence of her parents on January 16, 2021. On the following day, a case was registered against them at Salepur police station after the girl narrated her parents about her ordeal.
Based on the complaint, cops started an investigation into the matter and arrested the duo and forwarded them to the court.
Public prosecutor Subhedra Prasad Mahanty was managing the case on behalf of the government.
Ms Kalinga