Astrologer gets 10 yrs' RI for sexually assaulting minor girl

A court here today sentenced an astrologer to 10 years' rigorous imprisonment for sexually assaulting a five-year-old girl in 2015.

Special judge of the POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) court, Ajanta Sarangi, awarded the jail term to 48-year-old Sanyasi Mandal.

The court also slapped a fine of Rs 5,000 on him. In default, he would be imprisoned for three more months.

Mandal, an astrologer in Balasore district's Sukhdukhia village, had sexually assaulted the girl on March 24, 2015 when he visited her house on the pretext of reading palms of her family's members.

The girl's mother had lodged an FIR after she learnt about the incident.