17 years on, kidnap victim gives closing argument in own case — as lawyer

Cut to September 17 this year. Harsh, now 24, presented the nearly hour-long closing argument in his kidnapping case — not as a victim, but as a lawyer. Eight of the 14 accused in the case have been awarded life imprisonment by the trial court.

Harsh says his regular presence at the trial, which started in 2015, led to his decision to become a lawyer. In 2022, he got his law degree from an Agra-based college.

“With the court’s permission, I argued for 55 minutes during the final stage of the case and even responded to the objections raised by the defence counsel,” Harsh told The Indian Express.

Additional District Government Counsel Nahar Singh Tomar said the court sentenced eight of the dacoits to life imprisonment under Sections 364A (kidnapping for ransom), 307 (attempt to murder) and 368 (wrongful confinement) of the Indian Penal Code. Most of the eight convicts belong to Rajasthan.

Four other accused were acquitted due to lack of evidence, the counsel said, adding that two other accused died during the trial. Defence counsel Tejender Rajput said he will file an appeal against the judgment.

After earning his law degree in 2022, Harsh says he started tracking his kidnapping case closely, including maintaining a detailed record. “I attended every hearing and even started assisting the government counsel in the case, including travelling to other states to locate some of the witnesses. I ensured that all witnesses appeared on their scheduled dates. I tracked down retired police personnel and made sure they appeared in court to give their statements,” he says.

“During the final hearing, when I presented my argument, I made it clear that mine was a straightforward case of kidnapping for ransom. I provided a first-hand account of the kidnapping, including the detailed roles of each dacoit involved,” says Harsh, adding that the verdict was “won after many hardships”.

From kidnapping to winning a conviction

Talking about the immediate aftermath of his abduction, Harsh says while his father was rushed to a hospital with a bullet injury, his uncle informed the police about the kidnapping. Even as the police started a search operation to trace the kidnappers, his family received a ransom call for Rs 55 lakh the day after his abduction.

He says his kidnappers took him to the Chambal ravines, which run through Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.

Meanwhile, the police identified and arrested two of the accused with the help of surveillance and inputs from local intelligence. Spooked by these arrests, the gang, with Harsh in tow, started changing its hideouts more frequently over the next three weeks.

“The dacoits took me to several locations along the border before moving me to Madhya Pradesh. We would travel at night and stay indoors during the day. Some of their wives also travelled with us. We would walk around 5 km daily to reach a new hideout. Over the course of three weeks, I learnt the names and aliases of every gang member. They slapped me just once — when I insisted on being sent home,” Harsh recounts.

While the gang was on constant move, the Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh Police intensified their search operation after receiving a tip-off that the dacoits were hiding in Shivpuri district of Madhya Pradesh. On March 6, 2007, while attempting to move Harsh from Shivpuri to another location on a motorcycle, two of the accused spotted a police team checking vehicles. Fearing arrest, they abandoned the boy on the road and fled.

Harsh was rescued by the police, who took him to the station to complete case-related formalities. On March 7, 2007, a day later, he was reunited with his family. Between 2007 and 2008, all 14 accused linked to the case were arrested.

“A few dacoits were caught based on the information I gave the police after my rescue. Since the wife of one of the dacoits was pregnant, the police set a trap at the hospital. When he brought his wife in for delivery, he was arrested,” Harsh recalls.