A court in Odisha’s Kandhamal district has sentenced a 27-year-old man to five years of rigorous imprisonment (RI) on the charge of kidnapping a minor girl and establishing a physical relationship with her, giving false promises of marriage.

Monoranjan Das, POCSO court judge at Phulbani, on Wednesday pronounced the judgment after convicting Sibaram Pradhan alias Sida, a tribal man hailing from a village under G Udayagiri police station limits.

Special Public Prosecutor Asim Praharaj said the court has also imposed a penalty of Rs 8,000 on the convict, and in default, Pradhan would remain in custody for six more months.

The sentence was awarded to the man for committing kidnap, outraging of modesty and establishing a physical relationship with false promises of marriage to the nine-year-

See Full Page