The Himachal Pradesh High Court on Tuesday commuted the death sentence of two convicts in the kidnapping and murder of four-year-old Shimla boy Yug, committed 11 years ago, to life imprisonment.
While allowing the appeal filed by accused Tejinder Pal Singh, acquitting him of offences punishable under Sections 347 and 364A of the IPC, the Division Bench comprising Justice Vivek Singh Thakur and Justice Rakesh Kainthla partly allowed the appeals of Chander Sharma and Vikrant Bakshi. The Bench ruled that the death sentence imposed on them by the trial court be converted to life imprisonment, which will mean the natural life until their last breath.
The court observed that the material on record did not establish that the accused could not be reformed.
“Hence we are unable to confirm the death penalty imposed by the Trial Court despite our indignation towards the crime, and the same is reduced to life imprisonment, which will mean the natural life of the convicts till last breath,” the court said.
The Bench further noted that the submissions of the state counsel were not supported by material evidence.
“The evidence is silent as to what transpired after Yug was found missing. We have proceeded based on the last seen theory and other circumstances because there is no evidence regarding the events, which had happened between the day when Yug was found missing and his bones were found in the tank at Keleston in Shimla, Therefore, it is very difficult for us to proceed on the assumption that the convict had treated Yug with brutality, justifying the imposition of the extreme penalty of death,” it observed.
Yug was kidnapped from Ram Bazaar in Shimla on June 14, 2014. His father, Vinod Kumar, a local businessman, had filed a missing person’s complaint at Sadar Police Station, and a criminal case was registered on June 16. Yug was killed on June 21, 2014, while a ransom letter demanding Rs 3.6 crore was received on June 27, 2014. Three more ransom letters were received after that. The case was later transferred to the state CID.
On January 29, 2016, some employees of the Shimla Municipal Corporation found skeletal remains while cleaning a tank after a jaundice outbreak. They however threw it away without alerting the police, presuming it to be that of an animal.
In September 2018, the Sessions Court, Shimla convicted all three accused — Chander, Tejinder, and Vikrant Bakshi — and awarded them the death penalty. The matter was then referred to the High Court for confirmation. The convicts had appealed against the order, which had found them guilty of kidnapping and murdering the four-year-old boy by tying stones to his body and throwing him alive into a water tank.
Reacting to the High Court’s order, Yug’s father told the media that the family would approach the Supreme Court against the High Court order to seek justice for their son.
Also Read: Sukh Ashray Yojana opens doors to reputed schools for orphans
Follow us
