MUMBAI, Jan. 5 -- The Bombay High Court has granted bail to Avinash Anil Dethe, who was sentenced to life imprisonment for his role in a 2014 kidnapping-for-ransom of the then three-year-old son of a businessman from Malad. A division bench of justice Manish Pitale and justice Manjusha Deshpande passed the order on December 24, noting that the mastermind of the crime, Ajit Apraj, had already been granted bail by the court in August 2022, after it observed apparent non-compliance with statutory requirements while recording confessional statement that formed the basis of the trial court's conviction. The bench also took into account that Dethe has already spent over 11 years in custody. According to the prosecution, the incident took place on January 17, 2014, when a man posing as a delivery agent arrived at the businessman's residence in the evening when their house help was alone at home with the child. While their house help was speaking to the delivery agent, two men forced their way into the house, gagged her with cloth and tape, tied her hands and legs, and abducted the child. She later managed to free herself partially and alerted the child's parents, following which a police complaint was lodged. From the next day onwards, the businessman kept receiving ransom calls demanding Rs.81 lakh for the child's safe release. The kidnappers also sent written instructions through courier services. On January 23, the businessman was told to carry the ransom amount to Kurla Terminus. Acting on the directions, he boarded a specified coach of the Godavari Express and at 6.30 pm, after receiving a torch signal from near a pole, he was instructed to drop the bag of cash, which he did as instructed. Later that evening, he received a call assuring him that the child would be released within four hours. Shortly after 10 pm, the child was safely dropped outside a hotel in Thane, and the parents were informed. The police said that two men and a woman had left the child at the hotel. Based on information gathered at the scene, officers traced and seized the vehicle used in the crime, subsequently arresting six men and one woman. On April 12, 2022, a sessions court convicted all the accused for kidnapping for ransom and sentenced them to life imprisonment....