2 get life term for kidnapping child

MUMBAI: The Bombay high court relying largely on the testimony of a six-year-old boy who was kidnapped when he was four, had upheld the conviction and sentence of two kidnappers.
Aaskumar Gupta, a 22-year-old and Rajesh Prasad his 24-year-old accomplice were convicted by a sessions court in Pune for the charge of kidnapping and sentenced them to life imprisonment.They challenged the guilty verdict before the High Court. And a bench of Justice V K Tahilramani and Justice A R Joshi who finally heard the appeal held that the case had been conclusively proved by the police and through proper evidence in court and that the verdict of the sessions court cannot be interfered with.
The, in a nut shell, was that a resident of Pune Shantaram Kumbhar a son aged four and during Diwali in 2002 his world instead of lighting up, darkened when two masons who were employed to complete some work in his house kidnapped his son who was playing nearby outside the house. The son's testimony during the trial two years later proved crucial as he recounted in his own words how the two "mason uncles'' took him away on a scooter and he was finally reunited with his family when the "police uncle'' rescued him. He identified the accused in court.
The defence lawyer, appointed by the court Rohini Dandekar, argued that the child's testimony cannot be relied on but the HC observed that the sessions judge had tried to ascertain that he understood what was going on. Besides, the child's statements were corroborated with other evidence including the recovery of the scooter on which he was kidnapped. The court thus dismissed their appeal.