Three, including victim’s cousin, get life term for kidnapping

Ludhiana: A local court sentenced three individuals to life imprisonment for kidnapping a man, keeping him in illegal confinement, and voluntarily causing him harm to extort ransom from his brother. One of the convicts is the victim's cousin.
The court of additional sessions judge, fast track court, Sandeep Singh Bajwa, also imposed a fine of Rs 14,000 each on the three convicts. In default of payment of the fine, they will have to undergo further rigorous imprisonment for one year and eight months each.
On April 28, 2016, Jodhan police station filed a case against Mandeep Singh Doctor and Gurjant Singh from Pandori in Mehal Kalan, as well as Mandeep Singh of Chhapa in Barnala district, under sections 365 (Kidnapping or abducting with intent to secretly and wrongfully confine a person), 364-A (Kidnapping for ransom), 506 (criminal intimidation), 201 (causing disappearance of evidence), and 34 (common intention related) of the IPC.
On April 30, 2016, Ranjit Singh, the complainant, said that on April 28, 2016, he was out on an evening walk when a Scorpio vehicle pulled up near him. He noticed that the driver was masked and on apprehension, he noted down the vehicle number. Suddenly, he said that two masked men came out of the vehicle and seized him, covering his face with a mask too. The complainant said that they dragged him into the vehicle and drove towards Saholi village. The complainant said that he had two brothers, Surinder Singh and Hardeep Singh, who are based in Holland.
The kidnappers searched his pockets and took two mobile phones and a wallet containing Rs 3,000. He said that when he screamed for help, one of them pointed a pistol at him, which seemed fake, and threatened him. When he continued shouting, one of them tried to make him inhale something, but it had no effect. After this, the man called "doctor" gave him an injection four times, after which he lost consciousness. When he woke up, his eyes and mouth were taped shut, and his hands and legs were tied. When he struggled, one of the kidnappers pulled the tape away, causing injuries to his mouth and eyes. He realised that he was locked in a room with a person he recognised as his cousin Mandeep Singh Doctor, who ran a clinic near his maternal aunt's house in Pandori village.
After some time, someone knocked on the door and called Mandeep outside. Through the crack in the door, he saw Mandeep with Gurjant Singh and overheard their conversation. They told "Doctor" to take care of him till they received the ransom from his brother, Hardeep Singh. Once the ransom was paid, they planned to release him. That same night, Doctor and Gurjant blindfolded and gagged him, after which they took him to Bhaini Baringa bus stand, where they untied him and left. Before they left, Ranjit managed to take down the motorcycle's number. Later, Baljit Singh, manager of his brother, Hardeep Singh, along with a driver, arrived in a Fortuner and took him back to Dhaipai village. Ranjit then narrated the entire incident to his brother Hardeep Singh and revealed the kidnappers' identities.
Ranjit explained that the motive behind the kidnapping was a land dispute. They had a 17-acre land in villages of Kutba and Chappa, which was leased to his cousin, Mandeep Singh at a low price. Two months before the incident, they sold the land, which angered Mandeep Singh. Ranjit firmly believed that his cousin Mandeep Singh, along with Gurjant Singh and Mandeep Singh Doctor, kidnapped him and released him the next day after receiving Rs 30 lakh ransom.
Police named the accused in the case and arrested them on May 2, 2016. Mandeep led the police to the recovery of the Scorpio used in the crime and Rs 8.9 lakh. Gurjant facilitated recovery of Rs 10 lakh and a toy pistol, while Mandeep Doctor led the police to the recovery of Rs 10 lakh and a motorcycle. Police presented a chargesheet against the three accused in the case after completing investigations.
During the trial, the accused pleaded false implication. The court, while appreciating the evidence on record, held the accused guilty.
The court observed, "The established legal principle is that the death penalty should be reserved for rarest of rare cases, where the conduct of the accused is beyond reform. In the present case, although the victim sustained injuries during captivity, he was eventually recovered safely, and the ransom amount of Rs 30 lakh was also recovered. Therefore, circumstances do not warrant categorising the case as one of rarest of rare."
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