The Special POCSO Court on Tuesday awarded life imprisonment to a person and imposed on him a fine of `30,000, in default, to undergo an additional two years imprisonment, for raping and impregnating a minor girl in Kandhamal district in 2014.
The accused Suryakanta Bhoi of Bakarimunda village under the Balliguda police station had raped the girl, a Class-X student, after promising to marry her.
Meanwhile, the girl had given birth to a baby girl in 2015, following which a meeting of the Gram Sabha was convened for a solution to the matter. However, the decision of the Gram Sabha was not accepted by Bhoi.
later, the family members of the girl lodged a complaint with the Balliguda police and a case was registered against Bhoi. Adjudicating the case, POCSO Court Judge Sushant Patel sentenced Bhoi to life imprisonment.