Alibaug, Feb 3 (PTI) A court in Maharashtra's Raigad district has sentenced a man to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment for the abduction and rape of a 12-year-old girl.

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Special district judge Shahida Shaikh sentenced Paresh Sanjay Mate to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 on him.

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The accused was found guilty of the charges under sections 363 (kidnapping), 354 (assault) and other relevant provisions of the IPC and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

A copy of the court order, which was passed on January 28, was made available on Thursday.

According to the prosecution, the accused had abducted the minor girl on the night of March 3, 2021 and took her to Aapta village, where he raped her.

The victim's father lodged a complaint at Pen police station, following which the accused was arrested.

The court examined eight witnesses in the case before passing the judgement, it was stated.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)