Man gets 10-year RI for raping girl

A city court Tuesday sentenced a 22-year-old man to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment for raping a girl after forcibly marrying her at a temple.

Abhijit Paik was found guilty of kidnapping the girl from her home in Narkeldanga area in the eastern part of the city and raping her.

Additional Sessions Judge at the Sealdah court Jimut Bahan Biswas sentenced Paik to 10 years for raping the girl and five years in prison for abducting her.

Both the terms will run concurrently, the judge said in his order.

The court also directed the West Bengal government to give Rs 5 lakh to the 14-year-old girl as compensation under provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

Paik was also asked to pay a fine of Rs 50,000 and Rs 10,000 for the two offences and 90 per cent of both will be paid to the girl.

She had gone missing from her residence on December 10 last year after going out at around 11.30 pm.

It was found later that Paik lured her and forced her to marry him at a temple, public prosecutor Vivek Sharma said.

Based on a complaint lodged by the girl's mother at Narkeldanga police station, police launched a probe and the rescued the girl on December 23, the public prosecutor said, adding that Paik was also later arrested.

During trial, the girl said in her deposition that she was in a relationship with the accused for three years and was lured by him.

The accused claimed that he was not guilty and that the girl went with him out of her own will.