Gangster gets lifer in kidnap & extortion case

A special MCOCA court today sentenced to life imprisonment a former member of the fugitive Chhota Rajan gang for kidnapping two youngsters and extorting money from a Delhi-based businessman.
"The court convicted Prakash alias Bunty Pandey and imposed a fine of over Rs 15 lakh on him," public prosecutor Dileep Shah told PTI.
According to the prosecution, Pandey and his gang members had come out with a novel method of luring youths and extorting money from them. In 2004, they floated a film company called Omkar Televisions and placed advertisements in newspapers inviting applications and portfolios from aspiring actors.
"By inviting applications, they first screened the youngsters and checked their financial background before kidnapping them for ransom," Shah said.

A youngster approached them and the gang kidnapped him after they verified that he belonged to an affluent family. His cousin, who accompanied the boy, was also kidnapped. Both of them were taken to Navsari in Gujarat. Later, the gang members called the father of the boy and demanded Rs two crore for their release and also threatened them against going to police. However, based on a tip-off, Gujarat police raided the hideout and rescued the duo.
The Mumbai police earlier arrested six abductors and four of them were sentenced to life imprisonment in 2008. While one died during the trial and another jumped the bail.

Pandey was subsequently arrested after he was deported from Vietnam in 2010. He was charged under Indian Penal code (IPC) and Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA).

The trial commenced in November 2014 and the prosecution examined 11 witnesses in the case including the victim boys and their father.
"Pandey had also confessed to the crime", Shah said.
Accepting the prosecution's case, the special MCOCA judge convicted Pandey and sentenced him to life imprisonment.