Ambala, Mar 20: A priest was handed down 31 years in jail by a fast track court for abducting and raping a minor girl in December last year.
Special Judge Vimlesh Tanwar awarded Sanjay Kherwar alias Shailender Puri 7 years in jail for kidnapping, 10 years for rape, 2 years for criminal intimidation, 2 years for cheating and 10 years under PCSAA, besides imposing a Rs 10,000 fine. All the sentences would run concurrently.
Puri, who was living in a temple, had raped the Class XI student in Ugala village, prosecution said.
The girl was rescued with the arrest of Puri a few days later and he was booked under relevant sections of IPC and the Protection of Child from Sexual Assault Act (PCSAA).
Puri was earlier awarded life term in a murder case in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh and had escaped custody, and since then, he was living in a temple by posing himself as a godman.
