Yug murder case: 2 convicts' death sentence reduced to life imprisonment

The Himachal Pradesh  High Court on Tuesday converted the death sentence awarded to two accused into life imprisonment in the four-year-old boy Yug murder case, while acquitting the third of all charges.

Related news: Shimla: Timeline of 4-year-old Yug Gupta murder case

While passing this judgment, a special division Bench comprising Justice Vivek Singh Thakur and Justice Rakesh Kainthla observed that “the appeal filed by accused Tejinder Pal Singh is allowed and he is acquitted of the charged offences, whereas the appeals filed by Chander Sharma and Vikrant Bakshi are partly allowed and they are acquitted of the commission of offences punishable under Sections 347 and 364A of the IPC, and the sentence of death imposed upon them by the Trial Court is ordered to be converted to life imprisonment, which will mean the natural life until their last breath.”

Converting the death sentence into life imprisonment, the Bench observed that “we have analysed the circumstances of the case and the reports submitted by the state regarding the behaviour of the accused in custody.  The material on record does not show that the accused cannot 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 until their last breath.”

Rejecting the contentions of the state counsel that the convict had brutally killed a young boy, the court observed that “this submission is not based on the material on record. 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; 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.”

Abducted from the busy Ram Bazaar area in the heart of the town on June 14, 2014, Yug was killed on June 21, 2014, even before the first ransom demand was made. On June 14, 2014, Yug’s father, Vinod Gupta, filed a missing person’s complaint at the Sadar police station. A criminal case was registered on June 16, while a letter carrying a demand for Rs 3.6 crore ransom was received on June 27, 2014. Three more ransom letters were received subsequently. The case was transferred to the state CID on August 14, 2014.

Preliminary investigation had suggested that the victim was tortured, starved, and forcibly served liquor before being thrown alive into a water tank tied to a rock.

On January 29, 2016, some MC employees found the skeleton while cleaning the tank after a jaundice outbreak, but threw it away without alerting the police, presuming it to be that of an animal.

The Sessions Court, Shimla, after concluding the trial, had convicted all three accused, Chander, Tajender, and Vikrant Bakshi, and awarded the death sentence in September 2018.

Since the death sentence was imposed, therefore, a reference was made to the High Court for confirmation. While answering the death reference, the High Court held that “the death reference received from the Trial Court is answered by holding that the accused does not deserve the death sentence in the present case.”