Ballia, September 13:  A court here sentenced a man to 25 years' imprisonment for raping a 12-year-old girl three years ago, officials said on Friday. Superintendent of Police Vikrant Veer said the court of Additional Sessions Judge Pratham Kant on Thursday convicted Gautam (23) under relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and imposed a fine of Rs 26,000. UP Shocker: Cleric Booked for Allegedly Raping Woman Multiple Times on Pretext of Curing Her Mental Ailment in Budaun.

According to the prosecution, three years ago, the accused had raped the girl over a period of eight months after which an FIR was lodged at the Bhimpura police station. The accused had also threatened to kill her and asked her to keep quiet about the matter, the prosecution said. They said, the FIR was lodged under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections of rape and criminal intimidation.