Two get life term for kidnapping, killing 10-year-old boy in Thane

The boy, Sunil Soni, the son of a city jeweller, was kidnapped by the duo on April 7, 2010, according to the prosecution

Two people were sentenced by a court in Thane to life imprisonment for kidnapping and killing a 10-year-old boy in 2010. D S Hatrote, the Kalyan District Judge convicted the accused identified as Santosh Padchit (44) and Rakesh Lakhara (33) on Tuesday and awarded life imprisonment to them. The judge also imposed a fine of Rs 1.05 lakh on each of them, of this amount, Rs 2 lakh is to be paid to the victim's father.

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Two other accused tried in the case were acquitted for lack of evidence. The victim was the son of a city jeweller who was kidnapped by the duo on April 7, 2010, according to the prosecution. The kidnappers demanded a ransom of Rs 5 lakh from the victim's father to free him but they later strangled him to death and dumped his body near Ajde village in Thane district. The accused were tracked down and arrested on the basis of their mobile phone location, the prosecution stated.

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A 30-year-old Palghar resident was kidnapped by a former colleague in West Bengal. Inspector Vilas Chougule of Valiv police station stated Samshul Qamar Shakeel Khan and the accused Saiful Khan (35), worked at a construction company in Mumbai. "The duo left the job and Saiful returned to his hometown in Malda. A few days ago, Saiful called Samshul and told him to join him at Malda. Samshul landed in Malda soon after, but Saiful and his accomplices kidnapped him," Chougule said. "The kidnappers had used Samshul's mobile phone to call his parents and demanded R20 lakh as ransom. The scared parents approached the police," he added.

"We sent a team there where the local police assisted our team in tracing Samshul. The accused and his accomplices are yet to be traced," said Vijaykant Sagar, the additional superintendent of police, Palghar police. The kidnappers let Samshul go after cops came enquiring at Saiful's parents' house.

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With inputs from PTI

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