BALBIR SINGH Vs. STATE OF U P

JUDGEMENT

(1.) BY means of this appeal preferred under Section 374 (2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (in short, 'the Cr. P.C.'), judgment and order dated 27.7.2007, passed by Sri Shiva Sharma, the then Addl. Sessions Judge, Court No. 2, Bijnor in S. T. No. 383 of 2005, State v. Balbir Singh and another, has been challenged, whereby the appellant-accused Balbir Singh has been convicted and sentenced to undergo imprisonment for life and to pay a fine of Rs. 30,000 under Section 364A of Indian Penal Code (in short, 'the I.P.C.'). Out of the amount of fine, Rs. 10,000 have been paid as compensation to the complainant. BY the same judgment, the co-accused Sardar Harjit Singh has been acquitted.

(2.) AN F.I.R. was lodged at P. S. Najibabad by the complainant Chet Ram Singh S/o Late Sri Bishamber Singh, resident of village Bhogpur, P.S. Najibabad, district Bijnor. The case of the prosecution as appearing from the first information report Ext. Ka-4, in brief, is that on 14.12.2004, Rahul aged about 2 years, 4 month, son of the complainant, disappeared at about 1 p.m. while he was playing in his gher. Search for him was made but in vain. In the evening Guddu S/o Prakash and Safique S/o Ganni told that they had seen Rahul going with a boy aged about 21-22 years and when they asked that boy as to where he is carrying the child, he told that mother of the child is coming behind. At about 4 p.m. a telephone call was made on the telephone of Bhupendra, maternal brother (mausera bhai) of the complainant, that Rahul S/o Chet Ram has been kidnapped by them. It was also informed on telephone that you come with rupees one lakh and carry the child. A warning was also given that if information was given to the police, they would kill the child. Information of the said telephone call was given to the complainant by Smt. Yogesh W/o Bhupendra Singh, who had heard the telephone. At about 7 p.m. a telephone call was made again on the said telephone and demand of rupees one lakh was repeated, on which the kidnapper was told that it is not possible to make arrangement of rupees one lakh. On 15.12.2004 at about 10.30 a.m., again a telephone call was made and it was informed that you come to Shakti Chauraha, Bijnor with rupees twenty thousand. It was also told by the kidnapper that Dr. Rajpal and Chet Ram should come, so that he may recognize them. After making arrangement of rupees ten thousand, the complainant went to P. S. Najibabad and lodged the F.I.R. there. Further, case of the prosecution is that after lodging the F.I.R. at P.S. Najibabad, S.H.O. Gauri Shankar Yadav, S.I. K. K. Yadav and some other police personnel alongwith the complainant Chet Ram and witnesses Dr. Rajpal S/o Jagdish as well as Smt. Yogesh Devi W/o Bhupendra went to Bijnor by Government Jeep No. UP 20/HO 507 and after leaving the jeep near Bardhman College, Bijnor, they reached Shakti Chauraha on 15.12.2004 and arrested the accused-Balbir Singh at about 7.45 p.m. with a packet containing ransom amount of rupees ten thousand, which was handed over to him by Smt. Yogesh. Thereafter, on the pointing out of the accused Balbir Singh, the kidnapped child Rahul was recovered from a vacant kothi, where he was standing in the supervision of Sardar Harjit Singh, who was arrested at about 7.55 p.m.

(3.) ON the case being committed to the Court of Session for trial, both the accused were charged under Section 364A, I.P.C., to which they pleaded not guilty and claimed to be tried.