Man gets life imprisonment for abducting powerloom workers in Thane

Thane: A 28-year-old history sheeter from Bhiwandi, who was found guilty on charges of kidnapping three powerloom workers from the town in 2013 for a ransom, was on Friday convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment by a court in Thane.

Thane District Judge A S Bhaisare awarded the punishment to Javed Akhtar Basiulla Ansari after finding him guilty under section 364(A) (kidnapping for ransom) of IPC and also imposed a fined of Rs 1,000 on him. He was also found guilty of charges punishable under section 386 (extortion by putting a person in fear of death or grievous hurt) of IPC and awarded another five years RI and a fine of Rs 500. Both the sentences will run concurrently, the court said.

Prosecutor Buleshwar Hinge had told the court that the man had on November 20, 2013, along with a minor, abducted Ramesh Dayali Mahato Dangi, Pankaj Govind Dangi and Vikas Sitaram Dangi, all in the age group of 20-25 years. They were taken to hotel Sagar Plaza in Shantinagar at Naigaon Road and held captive there at gun point after threats to kill them if a ransom of Rs 15,000 was not paid. The police based on a complaint by one of the relatives of the victims raided the place and rescued them, the court was told.

In his order, the judge noted that no leniency can be showed for Ansari as he also received Rs 4,000 from victims through one Uday Dangi. Ordering life imprisonment for the man, the judge said, "The victims were labourers working in powerlooms. They were kidnapped on the point of revolver for ransom. Offence is very serious and proved against the accused beyond all reasonable doubts.

"Kidnapping a person for ransom is cancer in the society. It needs to be cured and therefore, the accused involved in such crimes, cannot be shown leniency. In the present matter, no person was killed after kidnapping. Therefore, the case is not made out for capital punishment. As such, life imprisonment would meet the ends of justice," the judge added.