A special court in Indore ordered capital punishment for two men accused of kidnapping and killing the seven-year-old son of a Congress leader.
The two men have been identified as 23-year-old Hritik Thakur and 25-year-old Vikrant Thakur. The two men abducted the minor son of Congress leader Jitendra Chauhan in February 2023 and demanded a ransom of Rs 4 crore.
However, when the family failed to pay the ransom, the two men killed the seven-year-old boy.
Speaking to news agency ANI, Chauhan stated that Hritik, one of the accused was his nephew.
"On 5 February 2023, my son Harsh was kidnapped and killed. One of the accused, Hrithik, is my nephew and the other accused, Vikrant, is Hrithik's relative. They had demanded a ransom of Rs 4 crores to release my son. Hrithik used to visit my family, so Harsh knew him and went with him that day," stated the Congress leader.
Chauhan added that after Harsh went missing, Hritk was with him and helped "find the child".
"Hrithik kept pretending to search for the child with us and kept telling everything about us to another accused Vikrant. Today the court gave its verdict and we thank him," added Chauhan
On Monday, a special court comprising of Judge Devendra Prasad Misra convicted Vikrant Thakur and Hritik Thakur under sections 364 A (kidnapping for ransom), 302 (murder), and other relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code.
Furthermore, taking notice of the rare category of the case, the court sentenced both the convicts to death.
"If the manner in which the crime was committed, its heinousness and the audacity of the accused are such that they shock the soul of the society and attack the spirit of humanity, then in such a case, the punishment of life imprisonment is found to be inadequate," the court observed.
