RI of 20 years for raping 14-year-old

Berhampur: A special Pocso court on Saturday sentenced a 32-year-old man to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment for raping a 14-year-old girl after abducting her from her home in Ganjam district four years ago.
Pocso court judge Bikram Patnaik convicted Simanchal Pradhan for kidnapping and sexually assaulting the girl on September 26, 2018. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 55,000 on the convict. It also awarded Rs 6 lakh compensation to the victim.
“The accused will undergo rigorous imprisonment for another three years, if he failed to pay the fine,” said Narayan Panda, special public prosecutor, Pocso court. “The court awarded the sentence after examining 14 witnesses and medical reports,” he added.
The girl’s father had lodged an FIR with Gopalpur police station on September 27, 2018, after she was found missing from her home the previous night. The victim was studying in Class VIII then. The police had rescued the girl from Berhampur railway station on November 16, 2018.
“The accused was also arrested from the same location,” said Panda.TNN