Berhampur: A special Pocso court here on Saturday sentenced a 30-year-old man to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment for raping a 9-year-old girl after kidnapping her from a village in Ganjam district about two years ago.Additional district-cum-special court judge Pranati Pattnaik also imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 on the convict, a co-villager of the survivor. “He will undergo imprisonment for an additional six months if he fails to pay the fine,” said special public prosecutor Narayan Panda.The court also directed the district legal services authorities (DLSA) to pay a compensation of Rs 10.50 lakh to the survivor. The entire fine amount will be paid to the girl after recovery as per the CrPC provisions.“The court pronounced the judgment after recording the statements of nine witnesses, including the police and doctor, and based on the medical reports,” said Panda.Sources said the convict raped the girl after forcibly kidnapping her from her house on Jan 13, 2023, when the other family members were watching a folk dance. After returning at night, they found the girl was not at home.During search, they found the girl coming from the back of the house, crying. She narrated her ordeal to her mother. The next day, her mother lodged an FIR in the local police station.Police registered a case against the man under different sections of BNS and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act and arrested him. The accused was in judicial custody since his arrest.
