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NRI jailed for 27 years for
kidnapping fellow Indian
WSN Network
London: A
28-year-old non-resident Indian has been jailed for 27 years for
hatching a conspiracy to kidnap a fellow Indian and blackmail his
father who lives in Gujarat.
Dipesh Kumar
Chauhan along with his accomplices, Shujah Khaliq and Arif Aga, both
26 years, pleaded guilty during the two-week trial at
Southwark Crown
Court
last evening, the Metropolitan police said. Khaliq and Aga were
sentenced to 18 years each in prison. However, the police did not
name the victim to protect his identity to ensure he returned safely
to his family.
“The victim does
not come from a wealthy family. I am glad that they contacted the
police so that we could locate the victim and ensure his safe
return,” Dr Greg Trinder of the Kidnap Unit said.“The evidence
against these three individuals was overwhelming. It showed the
thought and planning that had gone into the crime and their motive
of greed. Khaliq and Aga had the sense to plead guilty but Chauhan
believed he could claim the defence of duress. I am grateful the
jury saw through his lies and found him guilty alongside the other
two defendants.
According to the
prosecution, the victim, 24-year-old at that time, had arranged to
meet his friend Dipesh Kumar Chauhan at the Queensbury underground
station for dinner on October 17 last year.
When the two
met, the victim was forced into the boot of a BMW car and taken to
Harrow where he was put inside a house. The victim was threatened to
be killed if he did not comply and was taped and tied to a chair.
Later, he was made to phone his father who lives in Gujarat to tell
him he must get Rs 20 million.The next day on October 18, the
victim's father received a second call. This time the caller said if
he didn't get the money ready his son would be killed. Following
this, the family contacted the police.
Over the next
three days further calls were made to the victim's father asking for
the ransom amount. The family lied and told the defendants that they
had the cash to prevent their son being harmed, the prosecution
said.
Extensive
enquiries by officers in the Kidnap Unit led to the identification
of an address at Glenalmond Road, Harrow, believed to be used by the
suspects.
7
October 2009
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