A sessions court in Gautam Buddha Nagar has delivered a long-awaited verdict in a chilling kidnapping case from 2010, sentencing three men to life imprisonment for abducting a two-year-old girl for ransom. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 30,000 on each convict.
The Conspiracy and Kidnapping
The incident dates back to April 2010 in Noida's Shatabdi Vihar area. The convicts—Sonu Kashyap, Shiv Kumar, and Rinku—conspired with the child's own maternal uncle, Anshuman Dixit, who was a juvenile at the time. The plan was executed when Anshuman took his niece from her residence. The family discovered the child missing on April 27, 2010.
The following day, Harish Kumar Sharma, the girl's father, lodged a formal missing-person report with the Sector 24 police station. He reported that his cousin Anshuman and his daughter were both missing. The situation escalated dramatically the next morning when the family received a terrifying ransom call.
The Ransom Demand and Police Investigation
The kidnappers demanded a hefty sum of Rs 40 lakh for the safe return of the child and issued threats of harm if the police were informed. Despite the threat, an FIR was promptly registered under sections 364A (kidnapping for ransom) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code, initially naming Anshuman as the prime suspect.
Police investigations quickly revealed that Anshuman had been in the company of his friends, Shiv Kumar and Sonu, on the evening of the incident. This lead proved crucial. Officers took Shiv Kumar into custody and, using mobile phone tracking technology, located Anshuman in Meerut.
A coordinated raid followed at the house of Sonu's uncle, Rinku. This operation led to the successful recovery of the unharmed child. Another accused, Dinesh, who was Rinku's son, was also apprehended at the location. Chargesheets were subsequently filed against all five individuals involved.
The Trial and Court's Verdict
The legal proceedings saw separate tracks. Anshuman Dixit, being a juvenile, was tried and convicted earlier in a juvenile justice court. Dinesh, one of the accused, passed away during the trial. The case against the remaining three—Sonu, Shiv, and Rinku—proceeded in the Additional Sessions Court-II of GB Nagar, where charges were framed on August 5, 2010.
During the trial, the prosecution presented seven witnesses, including the child's father and the investigating officers. The defence counsel argued that there were inconsistencies in the police team's details and that the recovery of the child was not made in the presence of independent witnesses. They also contended that the Meerut police were not taken into confidence during the raids.
However, Judge Somprabha Mishra found the evidence against the trio compelling. The court placed significant weight on the testimony of the minor's father, who identified the ransom call as originating from a number linked to Anshuman's mobile phone. The judge noted that the recovery of the motorcycle used in the crime, the mobile phone used for the ransom call, and the leads provided by one of the conspirators sufficiently proved the guilt of those arrested from the recovery spot.
On Saturday, the court pronounced its judgment, finding the three men guilty and sentencing them to life imprisonment. The fine of Rs 30,000 each was also imposed under the relevant sections of the law.
