MEERUT: A court in Saharanpur on Saturday handed down a life sentence to a 50-year-old man for abducting two security guards of a mango orchard in 2000 and demanding a ransom of Rs 30,000. Additional district judge Alok Sharma also imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 on Aslam, currently lodged in jail. One of the guards, Mohd Akhtar, alleged in his complaint, "Around 10.30pm on August 3, 2000, my colleague Saleemand I were asleep in a mango orchard under Saharanpurs Gagalheri police station limits.Suddenly, five men - Jasbeer, Naseem, Aslam, and two unidentified individuals - ambushed and overpowered us. They transported us to a secluded spot along the Hindon Bank River, about half a kilometre away. There, they held Saleem captive, while they released me with a demand for Rs 30,000 ransom. They warned that they would harm Saleem if I involved the police. I didnt have the money and reported the incident to the authorities. Subsequently, police arrested Naseem after a brief confrontation during which he fired at police officers. The other four managed to flee the scene."According to ADGC Amit Tyagi, police filed an FIR under sections 364A, 307 of the IPC, and the Arms Act against the accused based on Akhtars complaint. "Jasbeer passed away during the trial, while Aslam, despite multiple warrants issued since 2004, evaded court appearances. Naseem was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2005 and the court decided to run Aslams case separately," he said."Aslam, who had evaded arrest for 19 years, surrendered to police a few days ago, after which the case was revived. The court found Aslam guilty under Section 364A and acquitted him under Section 307 and section 25 of Arms Act due to lack of evidence," he added.Rajnish Tomar, a constable in UP Police privy to the case, said, "The file was almost buried and it wasnt easy to collect evidence and witnesses as the case was old and many officials involved in the case had retired. It took extra effort to bring witnesses for court proceedings. Moreover, the two unidentified persons booked in the FIR remain unidentified."

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