Rajendra Mirdha kidnap case: Lower court convicts Harnek Singh

Jaipur: A lower court in Jaipur on Thursday convicted Harnek Singh, one of the accused in sensational Rajendra Mirdha kidnap case. The court will pronounce the quantum of sentence against Singh on Friday.

Rajendra Mirdha, son of Congress leader Ram Niwas Mirdha was kidnapped on February 17, 1995. He had left home for a morning walk when he disappeared. When he didn’t return home, his brother Harendra Mirdha registered an FIR with the Ashok Nagar police station for kidnapping. Rajendra Mirdha was later rescued by the police later in an operation. Kidnappers had demanded release of Devinder Pal Singh Bhullar – an alleged member of terrorist and separatist organization, Khalistan Liberation Force, from the jail to free Mirdha.

Mirdha was kept in a house in Malviya Nagar. A milk supplier got suspicious about the activities in the house and tipped off the police. One Navneet Kadia was killed in a police encounter during the rescue operation. Daya Singh was sentenced to life imprisonment and his wife to seven year rigorous imprisonment in 2004.

Charge sheet was filed against accused Daya Singh Lahoriya and Kamaljeet Kaur who were extradited through Interpol. Investigation was kept pending against present accused. Harnek Singh was arrested by Punjab Police in the year 2004 and has been languishing in jail since then. He was brought to Rajasthan on a production warrant. He was arrested in Rajendra Mirdha kidnap case on February 28, 2007.