Balasore, January 18: A court here has sentenced two men to 20 years of imprisonment for raping a minor girl in 2016. Awarding the jail term to Dhulia Manual and Bikas Majhi on Thursday, Additional District Judge Ajanta Sarangi also slapped a fine of Rs 10,000 each on the convicts for raping the 14-year-old girl at Chakarada village. In case of non-payment of the fine amount, the convicts would have to serve an additional three months in jail, the judge said.

According to the prosecution, the girl was raped on January 1 and 31, 2016 by the two convicts, following which she had lodged a police complaint. After the completion of the investigation, the police had arrested the convicts. Uttar Pradesh: Rape Survivor in Gonda Commits Suicide After Police Frees Accused.

The victim had stated in her complaint that while she was returning home in the evening on January 1, 2016, she was forcibly taken to an isolated place, gagged and raped by Dhulia. Later, on January 31, Dhulia and his friend Bikas had raped her at knife-point in a deserted place.