Sundargarh: A man was sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for ten years by a special POCSO court in Odisha’s Sundargarh district for raping a minor girl seven years ago.
While pronouncing jail term, Additional District and POCSO court judge Mahendra Kumar Sutradhar imposed Rs 12,000 fine on convict Bhandari Soreng of Kutra area.
The court also ordered the District Legal Services Authority to pay Rs 5 lakh as compensation to the rape survivor.
Bhandari and his younger brother, a juvenile, were accused of raping the 6-year-old girl in March 2016 at her house when she was alone.
The matter came to fore when the girl suddenly fell ill following which the family lodged a complaint at the Kutra Police Station on March 22, 2016.
Based on the complaint, Kutra police arrested Bhandari and forwarded him to the court. His younger brother was sent to the juvenile court.
The court pronounced its verdict on the basis of statements of 19 witnesses and other evidence.
