Kendrapara, Nov 17 (PTI) A court in Odisha's Kendrapara district sentenced a 53-year-old man to 20-years rigorous imprisonment for raping a minor girl.

The Additional District Judge-cum-Special judge (POCSO) Kendrapara, Pragyan Paramita Roul pronounced the verdict on Saturday relying on the evidence of 19 witnesses including the victim girl and medical report, said Manoj Kumar Sahu, the special public prosecutor of the court.

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The court also imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 on the convict Kapilendra Mallick, he said.

The court also directed the Odisha State Legal Services Authority (OSLSA) to pay a compensation of Rs 4 lakh to the victim girl under the government's Odisha Victim Compensation Scheme, Sahu said.

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According to the prosecution, the girl was raped by Mallick, a neighbour, on June 6, 2022, in his house when she had gone to his house to meet her friend.

The girl's mother had filed an FIR at the local police station and Mallick was arrested.

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