Assam man gets 10 years in jail for raping minor

A court in Assam on Wednesday sentenced a man to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment for raping a minor girl.

The court in Sontipur district, which also functions as a special POCSO court, convicted the person for the rape of a five-year-old girl.

The convict, Ajit Praja, was sentenced to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs 20,000 by the court, special public prosecutor, POCSO court, Saibal Maitra, said.

The sentence was pronounced by the judge in charge of the Sonitpur district and sessions-cum-special POCSO court, Justice Debashish Bhattacharjya.

Maitra said the case was related to the rape of a five-year-old girl by the 35-year-old man in the Gorajuli Pothar area on July 25 last year.

''If Praja fails to pay the fine, he will have to spend an additional two months in prison,” the advocate said.

He has been convicted under relevant clauses of the BNS and POCSO Act, making it also the first case of conviction under BNS in the district, Maitra added.