Bhubaneswar: A court in Odisha’s Keonjhar district has sentenced a man to 17 years of rigorous imprisonment (RI) for kidnapping and raping a minor girl two years ago.

The court also slapped a penalty of Rs 17,000 on convict Shiba Lohar, a resident of Jhumpura Medical Colony under Jhumpura Police Station.

The Keonjhar Sadar police had registered a case against Lohar under Sections 137(2), 87, and 64(2)(M) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Section 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

The court convicted Lohar on July 3 after examining the witnesses and evidence gathered by the police during the investigation.

“The conviction was secured following the investigation conducted by Sub-Inspector Susmita Horo of Keonjhar Sadar police station. The evidence collected during the investigation played a key role in establishing the charges against the accused before the court,” said the Odisha Police in a statement.

The judgment marks the successful conclusion of the trial, with the accused being held accountable for the offences under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the POCSO Act, it added.