Balasore: A fast track special court in Baripada of Mayurbhanj district on Wednesday sentenced a 38-year-old man to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment for raping a woman in 2022. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 10,000, with an additional six months’ imprisonment in case of default.The man was found guilty of wrongfully restraining, assaulting and raping the woman on Sept 2, 2022.According to the prosecution, the woman was returning home after attending a funeral when she was accosted by the convict. As per her testimony, he forcibly restrained her, assaulted her and dragged her to a nearby bush where he raped her. When she resisted and raised an alarm, he gagged her mouth to silence her.The woman somehow managed to escape and return home. The following day, she sought medical treatment and later approached the police. On Sept 8, she lodged a written complaint and the man was arrested the next day and remanded to custody. His trial commenced on Oct 4, 2024.Judge S K Nayak, ad-hoc additional district and sessions judge, pronounced the verdict after examining seven prosecution witnesses, including the rape survivor, medical officers and the investigating officer, along with 18 documentary exhibits. The court held the man guilty under Sections 341 (wrongful restraint), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), and 376 (rape) of the Indian Penal Code.In addition to the 20-year sentence under Section 376 IPC, he was sentenced to one year of rigorous imprisonment under Section 323 IPC and one month under Section 341 IPC. All sentences will run concurrently, except the default sentence for non-payment of the fine.The court directed that the fine amount, once realised, be paid to the woman as compensation. The court also recommended a compensation of Rs 2 lakh to the woman under Section 357(A) of the CrPC, to be deposited in a nationalised bank for five years.
