Phulbani: A man was sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for 20 years by a special court in Odisha’s Kandhamal district for raping a minor girl in 2022.
Phulbani POCSO Court judge Sanjit Kumar Behera convicted and awarded 20-year jail term for Lupra Digal alias Nupra (61) for raping an eight-year-old girl. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 on the convict.
The court pronounced its verdict after examining the statements of 17 witnesses.
As per case details, the eight-year-old victim along with two of her friends had gone to a mango orchard under Baliguda police limits to pluck mangoes on April 9, 2022. While the minor girl was plucking mangoes in the orchard, Digal lured her into the nearby forest and raped her.
The minor girl, who was suffering from unbearable pain, told her mother about her ordeal after reaching home. When her mother confronted Digal, he threatened her with dire consequences.
Later the victim’s mother lodged a complaint with the Baliguda police. The police after registering an FIR arrested Digal and subsequently filed a charge sheet against him.
