Odisha court sentences woman to 20-yr imprisonment for abetting classmate's rape

Kendrapara (Odisha) | A court in Odisha's Kendrapara district sentenced an 18-year-old woman to 20 years of imprisonment for abetting the gang rape of her classmate in 2023.

The court of Additional District Judge of Kendrapara, Pragyan Paramita Roul, pronounced the judgment on Friday and also imposed a fine of Rs 18,000 on the convict. Failure to pay the amount would result in an additional jail term of one year, special public prosecutor Manoj Kumar Sahu said.

The court also directed the Odisha State Legal Services Authority (OSLSA) to pay a compensation of Rs 7.50 lakh to the survivor, Sahu said.

The survivor was a class 12 student at the time of the incident.

As per case records, the 17-year-old survivor was given a sedative-laced soft drink by her classmate on October 17, 2023.

Two companions of the convict later took the girl to a hotel in Cuttack in a car and took turns to rape her.

Police later arrested three persons, including the woman who was convicted, in connection with the rape.

The convict was produced before the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) in Kendrapara after her arrest as she was a juvenile at that time.

JJB stated that the child in conflict with the law was fully aware of the circumstances in which the offences were committed and transferred the case record to the Kendrapara court for her trial.

The trial of the other two accused persons was yet to be completed, Sahu added.