Balasore: The Special Judge POCSO court Jagdish Prasad Mohanty on Saturday convicted a rape accused and sentenced him to 10 years imprisonment and slapped a penalty of Rs 20,000 on him for raping a 13-year-old minor. Special Public Prosecutor, Pranab Panda said the court convicted Bhabagrahi Das (69) of Bateswar village under Khira police station limits for sexually abusing the minor girl several times for about two years.
The girl was working as a domestic help in the house of Das. On September 13, 2016, after learning about the girl's ordeal, the local Childline unit rescued her and filed an FIR against the accused. After reviewing the evidence and interviewing the witnesses, the court sentenced Das to 20 years in prison, ten years each for offences committed under section 376(2)(i) of the POSCO Act and section 3(2)(V). Panda said the sentences would run concurrently and the convict would have to undergo imprisonment for ten years. (UNI)