Man sentenced to 20 years RI for raping minor girl in Odisha’s Kandhamal

Cuttack: The ADJ-cum-Special POCSO court today sentenced a man to 20 years rigorous imprisonment (RI) for raping a minor girl in Kandhamal district in 2019. The convict youth, identified as Dushasan Pradhan (43), was imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 in addition to imprisonment.

Dushasan will undergo imprisonment for an additional period of one year in case he fails to pay the fine amount, the court of Justice Sanjit Kumar Behera ordered.

According to official sources, the convict had raped the girl at a village under Phiringia police limits of Kandhamal. The rape survivor was alone at her house when the incident occurred.

The father of the minor was running a shop at his house. On February 5, 2019 (the intervening day), the girl was in place of her father and was carrying out business transactions. The youth from her village had come to purchase a country-made cigar (Bidi). Taking advantage of the loneliness, he forcibly outraged her modesty and fled from the spot soon after committing the crime.

Dushasan had been repeatedly raping the minor girl by threatening her with dire consequences. The youth continued his nuisance and impregnated the victim at a later stage.

District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) in Kandhamal was ordered by the fast track court to pay the victim girl a compensation of Rs 11 lakh, the sources added.