Sonbhadra (UP), Dec 15 Ramdular Gond, a Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA from UP's Sonbhadra, was on Friday sentenced to 25 years in jail for the rape of a minor girl in 2014.
The development has set the stage for his disqualification from the Uttar Pradesh Assembly.
A fine of Rs 10 lakh has also been imposed on the legislator, that would be given to the rape survivor.
The verdict was pronounced by Additional District and Session Judge of the MP/MLA court Ahsan Ullah Khan.
The incident took place in 2014 and a case was registered against Gond under IPC's Sections 376 (rape) and 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation) as well as under the provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act on the complaint of the rape survivor's brother.
The victim's family members have expressed satisfaction over the court's verdict.
Special Public Prosecutor Satyaprakash Tripathi said the court held the MLA from Duddhi Assembly seat -- reserved for Scheduled Tribes -- guilty on December 12 and the quantum of sentence was announced on Friday.
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