A special Pocso court in Balurghat awarded 10 years of rigorous imprisonment to two youths on Thursday for raping a minor girl in South Dinajpur five years ago.

Sources said Justice Sharanya Sen Prasad convicted the accused duo on Tuesday after the trial was over.

The verdict was announced on Thursday.

Sources said on December 20, 2019, the victim, who was 15 years old then, was returning home when the duo intercepted her, overpowered her and took her to a nearby patch of forest where they raped her.

The girl was so shocked that she couldn't narrate her ordeal to her parents immediately, sources said. She broke down and told her parents a couple of days later.

Her parents filed a complaint with police.

The police acted swiftly. They initiated a probe, arrested the duo and filed the chargesheet within 35 days of the incident.

“The trial commenced at the special Pocso court which found the youths guilty. The court ordered rigorous imprisonment for them for 10 years and compensation of ₹10 lakh for the victim,” said Ritabrata Chakraborty, the government lawyer.

Asked to comment on the sentence, the girl’s family members said they wanted the duo to get life imprisonment and not just 10 years. “Still, our girl at least got justice,” said a family member.