10 get life in 24-year-old Badaun kidnapping case

A special court in Badaun district found 11 men guilty of kidnapping a man for ransom 24 years ago, a prosecution official said. While ten of them were awarded life imprisonment, another received ten years of rigorous imprisonment.

The court of special judge Rekha Sharma also imposed a fine of ₹20,000 on each of the convicts.

A case against the kidnapping of Deepesh Sharma, who was then 24, was registered at the Bisaoli police station of Badaun based on a complaint by his father Girish Chandra Sharma, a resident of Sisarka village under the jurisdiction of Faizganj Behta police station area.

Girish, in his complaint, stated that his son, on December 9, 2000, left the house on his motorcycle to invite people to a celebration in the village. He was last seen in Kamalpur village.

Initially, the police filed a missing person’s report, which was later turned into a kidnapping case. During the investigation, Deepesh was found in a house near Shivpuram in Badaun city.

Following the investigation, a chargesheet was filed against Pappu alias Zahid, Puran, Mahesh, Shahid, Rakesh Kumar Pathak, Anand, Subhash, Sarvendra, Pravesh, Kunwar Pal alias Kunwar Singh, Pappu, Amarpal, Nanhe Pathak, Radheshyam, and Parmanand. Charges under various sections, including robbery, kidnapping for ransom, and criminal conspiracy were slapped against them.

Later, Bahar Miyan, Dalip, and Noor Mohammad were also named as accused. The proceedings against Pravesh, Rakesh Pathak, Shahid, Radheshyam, and Dalip were dismissed due to their deaths during the trial.

The case against Sarvendra was separated because he failed to appear in court. The case remained under judicial consideration for over the last two decades, said special public prosecutor Rajesh Babu Mishra.

“As many as 24 witnesses testified in the court during the trial. Police had filed a detailed charge sheet. The statement of the victim also played a crucial role in the case. On Thursday, after reviewing the available evidence and hearing the arguments, the court of special judge Rekha Sharma sentenced Pappu, Anand, Ramesh, Amarpal, Puran, Mahesh, Subhash, Nanhe, Parmanand, and Bahar Miya to life imprisonment,” the ADGC said.

“One of the accused, Kunwar Pal alias Kunwar Singh, received a sentence of ten years of rigorous imprisonment. A bike used in the kidnapping was recovered from him. The court also imposed a fine of ₹15,000 on him. The convicted individuals were associated with the notorious Zahid and Sarvendra gang infamous for carrying out dacoities and kidnappings,” the ADGC informed.