Phulbani (Odisha), Apr 8 (PTI) A local court in Odisha's Kandhamal district Friday sentenced a 55-year-old man to life imprisonment after convicting him for raping an eight-year-old about four years ago.

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Special Judge of the POCSO court, Bhaskar Chandra Sahu passed the order after holding the accused guilty under various sections of the POCSO Act.

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According to prosecution the man had forcibly dragged the girl, who hails from his village, to his house and raped her after tying a piece of cloth round her mouth in July 2018.

He then threatened her to kill her if she disclosed the incident.

An FIR was lodged by a family member at Khajuripada police station the same day and he was arrested.

(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)