BARIPADA: A 35-year-old man was sentenced to 20 years in jail by a court in Odisha's Mayurbhanj district for raping a teenage girl.

The fast-track court of special judge Santosh Kumar Nayak sentenced the convict to jail and also imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 on him, Special Public Prosecutor Manoranjan Pattnaik said.

The court directed the District Legal Services Authority to pay a compensation of Rs 50,000 to the victim, he said.

On the night of July 8, 2017, the convict and another man forcibly took the 15-year-old girl to a nearby forest while she was sleeping with her grandmother and gang-raped her, according to the prosecution.

The girl was rescued by villagers, and the police were informed, following which a case was registered at the Bisoi police station.

One of the accused was arrested, while the other remained absconding.

The arrested accused was convicted on the basis of the statements of the victim, 18 witnesses and the medical report.