Kendrapara, Nov 10 A court in Odisha's Kendrapara district on Tuesday sentenced a man to 25 years' imprisonment for raping and impregnating a 17-year-old girl in 2023.
Additional District Judge-cum-Special Judge (POCSO) Pragyan Paramita Roul pronounced the verdict on Tuesday and imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 on the convict, with an additional one-year jail term in default of payment of the fine, said special public prosecutor Nehru Kumar Sahu.
The court convicted Arjun Sethi on the basis of the testimonies of 17 witnesses, including the victim, and medical evidence, Sahu said.
According to the prosecution, the girl was returning home from a nearby market when the convict and two others allegedly took her to an isolated place, gang-raped her and threatened her with dire consequences if she disclosed the incident.
The assault came to light after her mother noticed physical changes and suspected that she was pregnant. The girl was subsequently found to be five months pregnant, the prosecution said.
Later, the victim's mother lodged an FIR on September 9, 2023, police registered a case and arrested the accused.
Earlier, on September 24 this year, the court had sentenced another convict in the case to 25 years' imprisonment. The trial of the third accused is yet to begin as he remains at large.
