Odisha man gets 20-year rigorous imprisonment for rape of minor girl five years ago

CUTTACK:  The Special POCSO Court, Cuttack on Thursday sentenced a 30-year-old man to 20 years rigorous imprisonment (RI) for raping a minor girl in Sector 11 of Markatnagar here five years ago.

Additional Sessions Judge, Cuttack, Bandana Kar convicted accused Rama Munda alias Rama Laguri and sentenced him to 20 years RI along with Rs 10,000 fine. “Having regard to the fact that the crime against the women is increasingly noticeable, the imposition of inadequate sentence would definitely affect the society adversely”, the Judge observed.

The court also allowed a sum of ` two lakh towards compensation to the victim. Special public prosecutor Ramesh Chandra Mohanty presented the case for the prosecution. The incident had occurred in March 2015.

The seven-year-old victim revealed about being raped by Rama, a daily wage earner living in their neighbourhood, to her mother on the day of the occurrence. Her mother lodged a complaint at Markatnagar police station five days later on March 19, 2015 following which a case was registered. Rama was arrested within a day.