Odisha man gets 22 years in jail for raping minor girl

Bhubaneswar: A Special Fast Track Court in Odisha’s Koraput district today sentenced a man to 22 years of rigorous imprisonment (RI) for raping a six-year-old girl in July this year.

The Special Fast Track Court at Jeypore in Koraput completed the hearing and convicted accused Wanka Pidika (30) within 165 days since the crime.

As per the case records, the accused had raped the minor girl while she was alone in the house of a relative in Bandhugaon area of Koraput on July 6.

The victim’s father had lodged a complaint with Bandhugaon police after she narrated her ordeal the next day. The police had registered a case in this regard and launched a probe.

The court ordered Rs 6 lakh compensation to the victim

The incident was subsequently categorized as a Red Flag case and a senior official of the Crime Branch was assigned the investigation. The cops arrested the accused and filed the chargesheet against him in the court within a week.

The court convicted the accused after examining 15 witnesses, 44 documents and other evidence gathered by the police during the investigation, said public persecutor Gayatri Devi.

The Special Fast Track Court awarded 22 years of RI to the convict under Sections 4 (2) and 6 of the POCSO Act and imposed a penalty of Rs 40,000 on him. Non-payment of the penalty amount will invite jail term for additional one year, she added.

The court also asked the authorities to provide a compensation of Rs 6 lakh to the victim.