Nihal Raish Sheikh (30) and Rafique Mohammad Unni Jan Sayyed (27) were found guilty by the Additional Sessions Judge D N Bhargande, who pronounced the verdict in a jam- packed courtroom here. The trial was conducted by a fast-track court.

According to the prosecution, Nitesh, son of a Navi Mumbai businessman, was kidnapped from near his residence on April 26, 2004 by the duo. They demanded a ransom of Rs 15 lakh from his parents.

The two killed the kid fearing arrest, but kept on demanding the ransom and even collected Rs 50,000 from his parents, the prosecution said.

The killers were caught a few days later. The boy's highly decomposed body was exhumed on May 24.

Additional Public Prosecutor Hemlata Deshmukh told the court that the duo deserves nothing but death sentence for kidnapping the child and brutally killing him.

Defence counsel Ramakant Patil pleaded for leniency, saying the accused were young and had no criminal background.

However, the court awarded capital punishment to the duo.
"I would like to make one point clear here, kidnapping of the child for ransom and killing him brutally is sufficient ground to hand over death sentence," the Judge maintained.