Phulbani: A Special POCSO court in Kandhamal district has sentenced a 27-year-old man to five years of rigorous imprisonment (RI) for the kidnapping and sexual assault of a nine-year-old girl, committed under the false pretext of marriage.
The convict, Sibaram Pradhan, alias Sida, a tribal man from a village under the G Udayagiri police station, was pronounced guilty on Wednesday.
The court found that Pradhan had kidnapped the minor from her home in a nearby village and repeatedly sexually assaulted her after luring her with false promises of marriage. In addition to the prison term, the court imposed a fine of ₹8,000. A default on this payment will result in an additional six months of incarceration.
The case was initiated after the victim’s father filed an FIR leading to Pradhan’s subsequent arrest.
In a significant move, the presiding judge also directed the Kandhamal District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) to provide a compensation of ₹1 lakh to the victim’s family.
