SHRIDHAR YESHWANT BHOSALE Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Appeal No. 889 of 2002 has been filed by the accused No.1 and it was argued by Mr. Prashant Naik for the accused No.1. Appeal No. 767 of 2002 is filed by Accused Nos. 2 and 3, it was argued by Mr. B. R. Patil. Arguments on behalf of the State were advanced by APP Mrs. G. P. Mulekar in both the Appeals.

(2.) All these three accused have been convicted by the Ad-hoc Additional Sessions Judge, Pune, by Judgment dated 15.6.2002. They were convicted under Section 364-A read with Section 34 of Indian Penal Code and were sentenced to suffer life imprisonment with fine, they were also convicted under Section 392 read with section 34 of I.P.C. and sentenced to suffer R.I. for three years and fine. Accused No.1 is also convicted under Section 25(1-B) of the Arms Act and was sentenced to suffer R.I. for one year and fine. All the substantive sentences to run concurrently.

(3.) Initially, the trial was against seven accused in all but accused Nos. 4 to 7 were acquitted of all the charges. The case of the prosecution was that these accused abducted one young boy Ashish Sitaram Bansal residing at Nigadi Pradhikaran Pune for the purpose of ransom. His father Sitaram is an Industrialist doing the business of steel re-rolling, he was a rich man and at the relevant time Victim Ashish was studying in III year of B.Com at Pimpri. On the date of the incident i.e. 14.4.1997 one Mr. Kazi had come to the house of the victim. He was to go to Shirdi in Maruti Esteem Car of Sitaram Bansal - the father of the victim. The number of the car was MH-14-D/4777.