Keonjhar Additional District Judge cum Special POCSO Court Judge Shubhashree Tripathi on Wednesday sentenced two persons to 30 years of rigorous imprisonment (RI) each after convicting them in a rape case.
The convicts were identified as SK Shahzad Ali (53) and Amita Karua (46). The court also ordered Ali pay a fine of Rs 30,000 and imprisonment for a further three years in case of default and Karua to pay a fine of 20,000 and two more years in prison for default of paying the fine.
It is revealed that the victim, a minor, was living with her parents in the Joda police station area. After her father left them, her mother married another man. After that, the victim was staying at the house of grandfather and step grandmother, Amita Karua, who is the second wife of her grandfather. Ali, who was having an affair with Karua, used to go there regularly. On June 22, 2018, in the absence of her grandfather at home, Ali raped her and threatened her not to inform anyone. Later, the victim narrated the incident to her mother. On October 27, 2018, after the victim filed a complaint in Joda police station, the police registered a case and arrested Ali and step grandmother Karua for aiding and abetting the crime.
Special Public Prosecutor Ganesh Prasad Mohapatra said that the Pocso court gave verdict after including the statements of 21 witnesses and the police investigation report. Similarly, the court recommended the District Legal Service Authority to pay Rs 6 lakh to the victim as compensation.
