Jajpur, Jun 25: A special POCSO court in Jajpur district on Thursday sentenced a father to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment for repeatedly raping his 12-year-old daughter, in a case that came to light after the victim approached a support centre.

The court further imposed a fine of Rs 55,000 on the accused, a resident of the Sukinda police station area, and directed the Legal Services Authority to provide Rs 1.05 lakh in compensation to the survivor, said Additional District and Sessions Judge and Special POCSO Judge Abhilash Senapati.

The court further ordered an additional 15 months of imprisonment if the fine remains unpaid.

According to prosecutors, the father subjected his daughter to repeated sexual abuse under various pretexts throughout 2024. The survivor eventually reported the abuse to a Sakhi Centre, a government-supported women's support centre, whose staff filed a written complaint with Sukinda police.

Police arrested the accused under Sections 4 and 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and produced him before the court.

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The court delivered its verdict based on testimony from 25 witnesses and other evidence, said Special Public Prosecutor Srinivas Sahu, who handled the case.

Cuttack POCSO Case
In a separate incident, a special POCSO court in Cuttack sentenced rape convict Ranjit Jena to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment in connection with a rape case involving a minor reported under Cuttack Sadar police station limits in December 2023.

The court further imposed a fine of Rs 20,000 on the convict and ordered an additional one-year jail term in case of non-payment of the penalty.

In addition, the court directed that the survivor be provided compensation of Rs 4 lakh.

The sentence was pronounced by the Special POCSO Court after examining the evidence and circumstances of the case.