A special Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) court in Ranchi has sentenced a man to 20 years for repeatedly raping a minor girl by threatening her.

The court has also imposed a fine of Rs 20,000 on the accused. In his judgment, Judge Asif Iqbal also mentioned that if the convict fails to pay the fine, he will have to serve an additional year in jail.

The accused, a resident of Ranchi’s Karamtoli village, lured the minor girl into a relationship and then repeatedly raped her by threatening her following which she became pregnant.

The incident came to light when the girl’s family came to know about the pregnancy. An FIR was lodged against the accused on 6 July 2022 and he was convicted by the court on August 9 this year.

Earlier in September last year, another court in the state’s Chaibasa district sentenced a man to 30 years of rigorous imprisonment for raping a minor girl in a village under the Muffasil police station limit about three years ago.

Similarly, in January 2021, a man was also convicted by the special Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) court for 20 years for repeatedly raping a minor.