Gurgaon: A Nuh district court has sentenced two men to life imprisonment for kidnapping a Maharashtra-based businessman in 2017 by luring him through a fake business offer on IndiaMART, and extorting Rs 8 lakh as ransom.The convicts — Mubarik, a resident of Chahalka village, and Ratiram, a resident of Palri village in Nuh district — were held guilty by the court on July 27. District and Sessions Judge Dr Sushil Kumar Garg also imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh on each convict.The victim, Sanjay Bhagchand Asawa, a businessman from Maharashtra’s Ahmednagar district, was invited to inspect jumbo bags that were being offered at low prices. When Asawa reached Haryana on Aug 9, 2017, he was driven to a farmhouse in Palla village. He was held captive at the farmhouse for two days and threatened with death unless he paid Rs 20 lakh. The demand was later reduced to Rs 8 lakh, which his family arranged.After receiving the ransom, the accused dropped Asawa near a national highway and fled. He later approached Nuh police station and filed an FIR. Police traced the accused using digital evidence and arrested both men.After nearly nine years of trial, the court convicted the two and sentenced them to a life term on Tuesday.The court held that “the offence was a premeditated crime involving deception, abduction, wrongful confinement and extortion. Such acts undermine public confidence in legitimate trade and warrant stern punishment.”
