Bhubaneswar: A Special POCSO Court has sentenced a person to undergo a jail term of 20 years for raping a minor girl in Balasore district last year.
The Special Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) Court in Balasore heard the case on Monday. Judge Ranjan Kumar Sutar convicted Shaikh Mantaj of Marine police station area and sentenced him to jail for 20 years after hearing statements of 16 witnesses and verifying 20 documents.
The court also slapped a fine of Rs 5,000 on the convict. The convict has to undergo imprisonment for an extra two years if he fails to pay the fine amount. The court also directed the district legal service authority to pay a compensation of Rs 4 lakh to the victim.
According to the case, Mantaj had lured the girl with chocolates while she was playing in front of her house on September 28, 2023, to an isolated place and raped her.
The victim’s parents filed a complaint against Mantaj at the Marine police station after the victim revealed the incident to them. Based on the complaint, police had registered a case and arrested Mantaj. Following the investigation, the police filed the chargesheet in court.
