LUCKNOW: Lucknow court has sentenced a 30-year-old man to twenty years of rigorous imprisonment for the rape of a 15-year-old girl in Uttar Pradesh's Bahraich district that took place over 8 years ago.

The court of special judge, Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO), Varun Mohit Nigam also fined a penalty of Rs 1.5 lakh on the convict.

The accused would have to serve an additional 6 months in jail in case of failure to pay the penalty, it said.

The court made a verdict that the strict punishment was due to effective pursuance of the case by police and prosecution officials, a state government spokesman said.

Sant Pratap Singh, the Government counsel said the girl was raped when she had gone to answer nature's call near her house in a village under Hardi police station of Bahraich on September 29, 2014.

He said the convict was present in court when the jail term was announced. He was sent back to jail to serve his term.

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