A 46-year-old man was sentenced to life imprisonment by a court in Odisha's Balasore district on Tuesday for raping and killing a nine-year-old girl in August.

The incident happened in the Remuna police station area on August 27, and in just 67 days, the verdict was delivered by the special POCSO court of Judge Ranjan Kumar Sutar.

The man was a relative of the girl and took her out with him to get her food, according to the prosecution.

Instead, he took her to a nearby abandoned house and raped her. Out of fear, he then killed her and covered the body with leaves before fleeing the spot.

Police started an investigation after her father lodged a missing person's complaint, and eventually, the body was found. Later, the man was arrested.

The court sentenced the man to life imprisonment after convicting him under the BNS and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act on the basis of statements given by 23 witnesses and 40 exhibits.

The court also imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 on him.

"Within 67 days of the occurrence of the crime, the judgment was pronounced," Special Public Prosecutor Pranab Kumar Panda said.

The court also ordered a compensation of Rs 9 lakh for the family of the deceased.

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