Agriculture expert Madan Rai has been sentenced to two and a half years in prison for sexually abusing a child. The verdict was issued on Friday by a bench of judge Narayan Prasad Dahal at the Khotang District Court.

According to court spokesperson Sudip Kumar Bhattarai, Rai was also fined Rs100,000 and ordered to pay Rs150,000 in compensation to the victim. Additionally, he must deposit Rs4,000 into the victim relief fund.

Rai, who operates the Shubhadra Madan Foundation in Diktel, was arrested in May last year on charges of sexually assaulting female children at his institute. The court convicted him on January 26 and scheduled a hearing to determine the punishment, which was finalised on Friday.