A special court in Odisha's Keonjhar district on Friday, March 2, sentenced a father-son duo to imprisonment for kidnapping and raping a minor girl.

Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) court judge Subhashree Tripathy convicted Babun Sethi (20) and his father Dolagovinda (43) after hearing 18 witnesses and verifying evidence.

The court sentenced Babun to 25 years of rigorous imprisonment (RI) and imposed a fine of Rs 20,000 on him, special public prosecutor Ganesh Prasad Mohapatra said.

Babun will have to spend another two years in jail if he fails to pay the fine, he said.

The court sentenced Dolagovinda to RI for 20 years and levied a penalty of Rs 10,000 on him.

Besides, the court directed the district legal authorities to pay a compensation of Rs 6 lakh to the rape survivor.

According to the prosecution, Babun had kidnapped the girl in an SUV near Baunsapal market under Keonjhar Sadar police station in October 2021.

When the girl shouted for help, a few locals informed police, following which, she was rescued and handed over to her family.

However, after a few days, Dolagovinda forcefully brought the girl to his home and his son raped her repeatedly.

Later, Dolagovinda took her to another place and raped her, the prosecution said.

After getting information, the district childline officials rescued the girl and handed her to her family.