Balasore (Odisha) Jul 27 (PTI) A court in Odisha's Balasore district on Saturday sentenced a 40-year-old man to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment for raping a 15-year-old girl last year.

The court of Special Judge, POCSO, Balasore, Ranjan Kumar Sutar also imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 on the convict. He will have to serve an additional sentence of two years if he fails to pay the fine.

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According to the prosecution, the convict had raped the girl when she went to relieve herself on December 1, 2023 in Simulia area of the district.

The survivor's mother had lodged a police complaint, following which the man was arrested and a case registered under several sections of the POCSO Act.

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The court pronounced the verdict after examining 14 witnesses and 23 exhibits, Special Public Prosecutor Pranab Kumar Panda said.

(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)