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Phulbani: A court in Odisha’s Kandhamal district has sentenced five persons to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment after convicting them of dacoity and gangrape of a minor girl at gunpoint 16 months ago.
Fast-track court judge Kailash Chandra Swain of Phulbani also imposed a fine of Rs 26,000 on each of the convicts, special public prosecutor Banamali Behera said on Wednesday.
All the convicts, aged between 24 and 47 years, hail from Daringbadi police station area, he said.
"In case of default in payment of the fine, each convict will have to undergo imprisonment for an additional five years," the court said.
According to the prosecution, the masked miscreants, armed with a pistol and dagger, entered the victim’s house on the night of April 24, 2024, and looted her gold necklace, earrings and Rs 50,000 in cash.
They then dragged the minor girl to a nearby place and gangraped her, police said.
Acting on an FIR lodged by the girl’s father with Phiringia police the following day, officers arrested all the accused from different hideouts.
The court also directed the District Legal Services Authority to pay Rs 6 lakh to the survivor as compensation.
As many as 18 witnesses were examined in connection with the case, Behera added.