2013 Kidnap & murder of 13-yr-old boy: Prosecution seeks death for convict; sentence likely today

(Representational Image)

In the 2013 kidnapping and murder case of a 13-year-old boy, the prosecution has sought death penalty for the convict, Vijesh Sanghvi. The sessions court is likely to pronounce the quantum of punishment on Thursday. On Monday, Principal Judge S B Agrawal had convicted Sanghvi on all charges, including murder, criminal conspiracy and kidnapping of Aditya Ranka. The court had acquitted Aditya’s cousin, Himanshu, of all charges.

Special public prosecutor Kalpana Chavan sought death for Sanghvi saying he had committed a “gruesome murder”. She submitted that after kidnapping Aditya, Sanghvi had driven him till outside city limits before killing him, which shows “it was not done in a state of panic”.

Chavan also said the convict, being an MBA graduate, was educated enough to know the consequences of his crime. “The death of the child has destroyed the family. His father died 10 months after the incident. The social impact of the incidence also has to be seen. Other mothers, who have been accompanying the victim’s mother to court, fear that it may happen to their children as well,” Chavan said. The special public prosecutor added that the 13-year old boy had readily gone with Sanghvi, as he knew him as his cousin’s friend.

She said Sanghvi’s conduct after the murder in brutally disposing of the body by burning it was also an aggravating circumstance against him. The defence advocate for Sanghvi said there was no “direct evidence” in the case and that he was the sole bread earner of the family and deserved leniency.

On May 13, 2013, Jitendra Ranka, a diamond broker, had received a ransom call demanding Rs 30 lakh in exchange of his kidnapped son, Aditya. Later, the police had arrested Himanshu and Sanghvi claiming that they had kidnapped him to pay off losses they had incurred while betting on IPL matches.