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Keonjhar (Odisha): A special court in Odisha’s Keonjhar district on Friday sentenced a father-son duo to rigorous imprisonment for kidnapping and raping a minor girl.
POCSO court judge Subhashree Tripathy convicted Babun Sethi (20) and his father Dolagovinda (43) after hearing 18 witnesses and verifying evidence.
The court sentenced Babun to 25 years of rigorous imprisonment (RI) and imposed a fine of Rs 20,000 on him, special public prosecutor Ganesh Prasad Mohapatra said. Babun will have to spend another two years in jail of he fails to pay the fine, he said.
The court sentenced Dolagovinda to RI for 20 years and slapped a penalty of Rs 10,000 on him.
Besides, the court directed the district legal authorities to pay a compensation of Rs 6 lakh to the rape survivor.
According to prosecution, Babun had kidnapped the girl in an SUV near Baunsapal market under Keonjhar Sadar police station in October, 2021. When the girl shouted for help, some locals informed police, following which she was rescued and handed over to her family.
However, after few days, Dolagovinda forcefully brought the girl to his home and his son raped her repeatedly. Later, Dolagovinda took her to another place and raped her, the prosecution said.
After getting information, the district Childline officials rescued the girl and handed her to her family.