Bhubaneswar: A special POCSO court has awarded life imprisonment to three persons for raping a minor girl in Keonjhar.
Judge Subhashree Tripathy also imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 each and ordered them to undergo imprisonment for one more year in case of default of the fine.
The court also directed the District Legal Services Authority to pay Rs 7.5 lakh compensation to the survivor.
The incident took place on March 5, 2022 when the minor girl had visited the nearest Shiva temple for Jagara fair. At that time, three young men picked her up to an undisclosed place and assaulted her sexually.
The girl narrated her ordeal before her parents the next morning. Her parents lodged a complaint at Patana police station.
Based on the complaint, the police registered a case and arrested three accused before forwarding them to court.
