Jajpur, Jun 27: A special POCSO court in Jajpur district Saturday sentenced a man to 12 years of rigorous imprisonment for raping a 17-year-old girl who had stepped out of her home at night to answer the call of nature.

The court further imposed a fine of 60,000 rupees on the accused, identified as Kiran Mukhi, and directed the District Legal Services Authority to provide Rs 8 lakh in compensation to the survivor, ordered 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.

The assault took place in 2025 under the jurisdiction of Jajpur Road police station, according to prosecutors. The victim's family filed an FIR with Jajpur Road police, who arrested the accused under Section 4 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and Section 137(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

The court delivered its verdict based on testimony from 17 witnesses and other evidence, said Special Public Prosecutor Pratap Kumar Ray, who handled the case.

Also Read: Man Arrested for Raping College Student in Bhubaneswar

Attempted Rape In Capital
In a separate incident, police on Saturday arrested a hotel employee for attempting to rape a non-Odia woman at a hotel in Bhubaneswar, a source said.

The accused, identified as Jayant Kumar Nayak, was arrested following a raid in Bhubaneswar after the woman filed an FIR with Bharatpur police station, the source added.

The incident took place at Hotel Satabdi in Bharatpur-GA Colony, where Nayak worked as an employee. He fled the hotel after the assault attempt, the source informed.