11 years on, four-year-old Yug’s family still seeking justice after high court’s verdict

The high court’s order, acquitting one accused and commuting the death sentence of two others to life imprisonment, has left the family of four-year-old Yug, whose kidnapping and murder shook the state in 2014, utterly devastated. Unaware of the final order being delivered, the family was absent from court when it was pronounced.

“We are dissatisfied with the high court’s order and will appeal against it in the Supreme Court,” said a tearful Vinod Gupta, Yug’s father. Yug’s grandmother and mother stood beside him, shattered and sobbing. “We miss him every single day and want the accused to be punished accordingly. Justice hasn’t been served to our child even after 11 years. He was four when he was killed, and today he would have been 15,” Gupta said, reminiscing about the horrific murder.

“We’ve been living for justice for our child, and if we have to sacrifice everything to get it, we will,” Gupta vowed, stating that he will fight for justice in the Supreme Court, even if it means selling everything. “Our demand is that all three accused receive the death sentence, as ordered by the lower court,” he added.

The Gupta family’s life turned upside down in 2014 when Yug went missing from Ram Bazaar. The family approached the police, who initially advised them to check with relatives. Later, Arvind Kumar, who worked for Vinod, informed him about a ransom letter demanding Rs 3.6 crore. The police were notified and advised Vinod to follow the letter’s instructions while constituting a team to apprehend the kidnappers.

Nearly two years after Yug’s disappearance, his skeletal remains were discovered in a municipal water tank during routine cleaning. Initially thought to be an animal’s skeleton, it was later confirmed to be Yug’s. The postmortem examination revealed that he had been thrown alive into the tank.