Man sentenced to 10 years for raping mentally challenged girl

Kendrapada: A Kendrapada court on Saturday sentenced a 42-year-old man to 10 years of imprisonment for raping a mentally challenged girl 11 years ago.Ad hoc additional district sessions-cum-fast-track special Pocso court also imposed a fine of Rs 20,000 on the convict.

Failure to pay the fine would result in his sentence being increased by six months.

The court also directed the Odisha State Legal Services Authority (OSLSA) to pay a compensation of Rs 4 lakh to the survivor.As per the court’s order, a radiology test was used to determine her age, and the report found that the survivor’s age was 19-23 years in 2014, when the crime occurred.The girl’s father had filed a complaint at the local police station alleging that the convict, a neighbour, raped his daughter when she went to answer the call of nature on the night of July 20, 2014. The man later threatened to kill her if she told anyone about the crime. However, she revealed her ordeal to her mother. Acting on the FIR, police arrested the man.“Ten witnesses, including the girl, deposed before the court. After relying on the evidence of witnesses and a medical report, judge Tribikram Keshari Chinhara convicted the man,” said Monalisa Biswal, additional public prosecutor.