Odisha: Man gets 20 years RI for raping minor

Baripada (Odisha), May 7 (PTI) A court in Odisha's Mayurbhanj district on Wednesday sentenced a 25-year-old man to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment for raping a 16-year-old girl last year, a government advocate said.

Special POCSO court judge, Santosh Kumar Nayak, also imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 on Rabinarayan Bhuyan, special public prosecutor Manaranjan Pattnaik said.

If the convict fails to pay the fine, he will undergo an additional jail term of six months, he said.

The court directed the secretary of Mayurbhanj District Legal Services Authority to pay Rs 3 lakh as compensation to the survivor, he said.

The judgment was pronounced after examining the medical report, and the statements of the survivor and eight witnesses, the special public prosecutor said.

On March 27, 2024, Rabinarayan Bhuyan forcefully entered the girl's house in Bahalda police station area and kidnapped her by threatening to kill her parents and younger brother. He took her to Jamshedpur, police said.

During their five-day stay at a rented house in Jamshedpur, the convict repeatedly raped her, the police said.

Later, the father of the survivor lodged an FIR with Bahalda police station. Police registered a case and rescued the minor girl from Jamshedpur and arrested Rabinarayan Bhuyan. PTI COR BBM BBM ACD