Jalpaiguri: A special POCSO court in Jalpaiguri sentenced a 55-year-old man to 15 years of imprisonment charged with the rape of a minor. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 20,000 and an additional three months of imprisonment in default of payment.
Debashis Dutta, the additional public prosecutor of the district court, stated: “On September 8, 2017, a woman had lodged a complaint at a police station, alleging that her minor daughter had been raped.”
Ramprakash Maitra, the accused person, who used to do paint jobs in houses, used to reside in the same rented house.
Following the complaint, the Bhaktinagar police arrested the accused and he was sent to jail custody. In January 2018, the minor gave birth to a daughter. At the request of the investigating officer, the court ordered a DNA test of the baby girl, which confirmed the accused as the father.
“After hearing the testimonies of eight witnesses, the court pronounced the aforementioned sentence for the accused,” added Dutta.