BHUBANESWAR: Three people were on Friday held guilty in the 2008 Kandhamal nun gangrape case while six other accused were acquitted due to lack of evidence.
The Cuttack district sessions court sentenced prime accused Mitu Patnaik alias Santosh to 11 years of imprisonment and imposed a fine of rupees 10,000 while the two other accused Gajendra Digal and Saroj Badhei were handed out 26 months in jail.
The accused were found guilty under Sections 355 (assault or criminal force with intent to dishonour a person), 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapon), 149 (unlawful assembly), 294 (obscene acts) and 506 (criminal intimidation).
Mitu was also sentenced under IPC section 376 (2) (G) (gangrape).
As all the sentences will run concurrently, Gajendra and Saroj were on Friday granted bail by the court since they have already spent 26 months in jail as undertrials.
However, Mitu, presently lodged in the Choudwar jai, will continue to stay there as he has been sentenced to 11 years.
The court had completed its hearing in the case on March 4 and had reserved its verdict.
