Rape Of Minor: POCSO Court Sentences Sundargarh Duo To 25 Years Of RI

Rourkela: A POCSO court at Bonei in Sundargarh district on Monday sentenced two youths to 25 years of rigorous imprisonment (RI) on charges of raping a minor girl in 2014.

The court also imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 each on the convicted duo, besides ordering a compensation of Rs 7 lakh for the victim.

A woman, who had allegedly trapped the girl and had been an undertrial prisoner for seven years, was acquitted by the court for lack of evidence against her.

The crime took place on May 12, 2014, when the girl had gone to attend a wedding ceremony in her village. One Sabita Dhibar took the girl to a nearby riverside, where three persons — identified as Hare Kishan, Prahlad Kishan and Dayal Kerketta — raped her at night and left the victim at her house next morning.

The traumatized girl narrated her ordeal to her parents, following which a complaint was lodged in Bonei police station. Cops arrested Hare Kishan (25), Prahlad (30) and Sabita (24), all of whom hail from Bonei.

They have in prison since May 20, 2014, while the other accused Dayal Kerketta has been absconding.

On Monday, Partha Sarathi Patnaik, the Additional District Judge-cum-Presiding Officer, Special Court POCSO, delivered the judgment.

If the two accused fail to pay the fine amount, they will have to undergo rigorous imprisonment for an extra year.

“The Court also declared that the victim will get Rs 7 lakh as compensation from the state through District Legal Service Authority, Sundargarh,” said Debasish Mishra, Special Public Prosecutor Bonei.

“In case of realization of the total fine amount of Rs 20,000 from the two convicts, the same shall be paid to the victim as a nominal compensation,” Mishra added.