Journalism of Courage
Assistant sessions court on Thursday sentenced Sachin Krishna Mungurdekar (20),a resident of Karvenagar,to life imprisonment for kidnapping 13-year-old Ganesh Ranjane of Ghorpade Peth in 2011. The court also slapped a penalty of Rs 1,000 on him.
According to the prosecution,Mungurdekar and his juvenile accomplice,a relative of Ranjane,had kidnapped him from Shivaji Road on December 15 last year while he was on the way to school. They had offered him to drop at school but took him to Khed Shivapur instead.
Mungurdekar called Ganeshs father Anna Ranjane and demanded a ransom of Rs 60,000.
They had strangulated and thrown Ganesh at a secluded spot near Garude village in Khed Shivapur. They thought Ganesh had died and fled from the spot. However,after some time Ganesh regained consciousness and two persons dropped him at a police chowky. On the same day in the afternoon,he returned home and narrated the whole incident, police said in the chargesheet.
Police arrested Mungurdekar and his accomplice on December 17 from Katraj-Dehu bypass road in Warje. Investigations revealed that during Ganesh festival last year,the victims father and his relative entered into a quarrel. Anna Ranjane had used abusive language against his relative after his motorcycle brushed against his bicycle. Ganesh was kidnapped to take revenge from his father, the police had stated in the chargesheet. Ganeshs deposition in the court was vital in convicting the accused.
