- (1.) This appeal by way of special leave has been filed by Lohit Kaushal, who along with several others stands convicted for offences punishable under Sections 364A, 342 read with Section 120B of the Indian Penal Code and has been sentenced to undergo imprisonment for life for the offence under Section 364A read with Section 120B and to one year's R. I. under Section 342 read with Section 120B, along with fine in both cases.
(2.) The facts of the case are as under: The Appellant is the wife's sister's husband of Harjit Singh brother of Saravjit Kaur, mother of Arshdeep Kaur, aged four years, the kidnap victim. Sukhjit Singh, father of Arshdeep, was employed in a private factory and earning (as per his statement) Rs. 70-80 thousand per month while Saravjit Kaur who was working as a Lecturer in the Government College, Narayangarh, was also drawing a handsome salary. As per the prosecution's case the Appellant had received a severe set back in his business and being aware of the financial status of Sukhjit Singh's family he planned to kidnap Arshdeep Kaur for ransom. As per parents were employed Arshdeep was left in a Creche in the morning by her parents and she would return to the home of Mohinder Kaur, her maternal grand mother after school hours. Pursuant to a conspiracy hatched by the Appellant, Parminder Mohan @ Pammi and Lovepreet Kaur, both well-known to Mohinder Kaur and her family, went to the house of Mohinder Kaur at about 1.30 p.m. on 25/8/2002, while Sukhjit Singh and Saravjit Kaur were at work. They found Mohinder Kaur and Arshdeep in the courtyard of the first floor of the house, and enquired about Sukhjit Singh and Saravjit Kaur and told Mohinder Kaur that Parminder Mohan had been blessed with a son and they had come to deliver a box of mithai to celebrate the occasion. They also asked Mohinder Kaur to give them some water. In the meantime two other persons, one being Manjit Singh alias Mithu, also came into the room and also asked for water and as Mohinder Kaur went into the kitchen, Manjit Singh followed her, caught hold of her and brought her into the bedroom. Parminder Mohan, thereafter, caught hold of her arm whereas Manjit Singh shut her mouth and tied her with a dupatta and the fourth unnamed accused manhandled her. Parminder Mohan thereafter tied her hands, shifted her to another room and after picking up Arshdeep and a video cassette player from the house, drove away in a Tata Sumo vehicle. A telephonic message was conveyed by Mohinder Kaur's neighbour Harjinderpal Singh to police station, Sector-19, Panchkula on which Sub-Inspector Avtar Singh reached the kidnap site and recorded the statement of Mohinder Kaur and on its basis an FIR was registered by Sub-Inspector Om Parkash. The Appellant, alongwith his wife Satnam Kaur, on hearing the news about the kidnapping and pretending to be concerned relatives, also visited Mohinder Kaur's house and arranged that she be sent to the General hospital, Panchkula, for her medical examination.
(3.) On 27/2/2002, information was received by Inspector Mange Ram that the kidnappers were demanding Rs. 60 lakhs as ransom and on receipt of the amount they would free the child near Gurudwara Dukhniwaran Sahib, Patiala. The matter was however settled at Rs. 21 lakhs. Sub-Inspector Mange Ram accompanied by Sukhjit Singh (Arshdeep's father) reached the pre-determined place, which was a STD booth near the Gurudwara and found Lovepreet Kaur along with the child inside the booth. She was immediately arrested and the child was freed and handed over to her father. Pursuant to Lovepreet Kaur's sustained interrogation Satnam Kaur was arrested on 28/2/2002, and pursuant to her interrogation, Lohit Kaushal, the Appellant herein, was taken into custody and a Maruti Car No. CH01-4565, which had allegedly been used while kidnapping the child, was seized by the police. A Tata Sumo vehicle bearing Registration No. HR01E-7582 was also produced before the police by its owner, PW.3 Sarwan Singh and was taken into possession. On the same day Parminder Mohan, Manjit Singh, Nand Kishore and Sunil Kumar were also apprehended. On 3/3/2002 Lovepreet Kaur made a disclosure leading to the recovery of the clothes that Arshdeep had been wearing at the time of the kidnapping. Likewise and at the instance of Manjit Singh, a VCP along with its remote control were also recovered.;