In the Special Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) court, Cuttack sentenced a Jatra (opera) artist to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment for raping a six-year-old girl in the Nemala police station jurisdiction in Cuttack district two years ago.
“The accused Ramkanta Singh stands charged for the offence under sections 363, 376 (AB), 307 Indian Penal Code and section-6 of Protection of children from sexual offences act, 2012 for the allegation of kidnapping the victim girl aged about 6 years from her lawful guardianship and committing rape on her”, the POCSO court judge Subhash Kumar Behari ruled in the verdict pronounced yesterday
The court also directed Rs 5 lakh compensation payment to minor rape survivors under section- 33 (8) of the POCSO act.
The accused, an opera artist, had raped the minor after taking her to an isolated spot on some pretext. The victim was rescued in distressed condition on 21 November 2019.