Jeypore (Koraput): A special POCSO court in Jeypore sentenced a man to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment for kidnapping and raping a minor girl in Kotpad police station area in Koraput district.
The court held Haribandhu Kalaria guilty under Section 6 (Sexual Assault) of the POCSO Act and imposed a fine of Rs 20,000. In default of payment, he would undergo 15 months more imprisonment.
The court also sentenced him to five years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs 10,000 under sec-366 of IPCC.
Both the sentences will run concurrently, the court clarified.
The court pronounced the verdict on the statements of 12 witnesses and 13 evidences.
The court has directed the District Legal Cell Authority to pay Rs 6 lakh compensation to the minor girl.
On February 18, 2022, the girl who went out of her home for work didn’t return. Her father lodged a complaint at Kotpad police station in this regard.
During the investigation, police rescued the girl from the house of convict Haribandhu’s relative at Sandhi village. The girl narrated before the police that Haribandhu had raped her several times on the pretext of marriage. She also got pregnant.
Government lawyer B Gayatri Devi pleaded on behalf of the prosecution.
