Jagatsinghpur, Sep 11 (IANS): A POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) court in Odisha's Jagatsinghpur district on Tuesday awarded death sentence to a person for raping and murdering a minor girl last year.

The court awarded death penalty to Kalia Manna alias Laba of Gadaharishpur village under Erasama police limits in the district.

Laba had raped and murdered a nine-year-old girl in Gadaharishpur on March 21, last year.

"Accused Laba Manna had raped and murdered the minor girl in a cashew field in Gadaharishpur under Erasama police limits. The accused forcibly took the girl and raped and murdered," informed special public prosecutor Siba Majhi.

The father of the victim expressed his happiness over the verdict saying that if such verdicts are awarded no one will dare to commit rape.

In another case, a local court in Keonjhar district awarded 20 years of jail term to each six accused for gang-raping a minor girl in Barbil area in 2015.

The Additional District Judge Court court also imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 each on the six persons.