New Delhi: A Delhi court has sentenced a
28-year-old man to life imprisonment for kidnapping the minor
son of a Jharkhand police constable while observing that India
cannot prevent crime against its children despite being an
emerging economy.
Additional Sessions Judge Sudhir Kumar Jain sentenced
North West Delhi resident Virender for kidnapping six-year-old
Akash for ransom.
While sentencing Virender, the court said, "India is a
globalisation success but cannot look after its children.
"As per a study, over 40,000 children on an average in
India are reported missing every year out of which 11,000
children remain untraced. Over the last few decades, the
incidents of kidnapping, particularly of minor children, have
increased," the judge said.
The prosecution case was that Virender conspired with
Subhash, Monu, Deen Dayal and Akash`s uncle Sanjeev and
kidnapped Akash on October 2, 2004 while he was playing in a
park near his house at Mongolpuri. He then phoned Akash`s
neighbours demanding a ransom of Rs 6 lakh and directed that
the same be sent through Sanjeev.
Akash`s father Rajesh arranged Rs 1.98 lakh and police
nabbed Virender and his accomplice when they came to collect
the money.
Virender named Sanjeev as one of his accomplice and at
their instance Akash was recovered on October 5, 2004.
While Sanjeev and Monu were sent to juvenile justice
board after they were found to be juveniles at the time of
committing the offence, Deen Dayal and Subhash were acquitted
for want of cogent evidence against them.
Declining Virender`s plea for leniency, ASJ Jain said,
"The children are kidnapped for variety of reasons such as
domestic labour, marriage, begging and prostitution. There is
need to understand the magnitude of kidnapping of children for
variety of reasons. Even in some cases, the children have been
killed when the parents are not able to pay ransom amount.
"It is the duty of every person connected with the
administration of justice to enforce the law in respect of
kidnapping of children when the case is brought before the
court for prosecution in accordance with law," he said.
PTI
