Bhubaneswar: A Pocso court in Odisha’s Sundargarh district today sentenced a man to 20 years of imprisonment for raping a nine-year-old girl four years ago.

The court also slapped a penalty of Rs 1 lakh on convict Shivasankar Barua. Non-payment of the penalty amount will invite further imprisonment for one year, said the court.

The court also directed the authorities to provide Rs 7 lakh as compensation to the victim.  

As per the case records, the minor girl was playing near her house at a village in Kinjirikela area of Sundargarh on May 5, 2021.

Barua, somehow, lured the girl to a secluded place in the village and raped her.

The incident came to the light after the victim narrated her ordeal before a relative later in the day.

The victim’s family lodged a complaint in this regard with police the next day.

The police arrested Barua and produced him in a local court after registering a case in this regard under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act.