Yug Gupta case: Shimla court sentences three men to death
Two years after the skeletal remains of a four-year-old boy, Yug Gupta, were found inside a water tank in the Kelston area of Shimla, a local Shimla court has sentenced three men to death in connection with the murder. Yug had been abducted in June 2014, and his murder, discovered much later in 2016, had triggered public outrage in Shimla. Here are the details.
The death penalties were awarded after public debate
The Shimla court had, on August 6, held Chander Sharma, Tajender Singh and Vikrant Bakshi responsible for the abduction, torture, and murder of Yug. However, their sentencing was deferred to allow debate on the quantum of the sentences to be awarded for the heinous crime. Statements of over 105 witnesses were taken, and Yug's father was present when the death penalties were awarded.
Yug's father hailed the death sentence as a just punishment
"They had committed rarest of rare crime by kidnapping and drowning my four year old son alive in the water tank after forcibly administering liquor," Yug's father told PTI, saying that the death sentences had restored his faith in the judiciary.
Backstory: The perpetrators had demanded a ransom of Rs. 3.6cr
On June 14, 2014, Yug, the son of businessman Vinod Gupta, had gone missing, and an abduction case was registered on June 16. Subsequently, on June 27 the Guptas had received a ransom letter - the first among four - demanding Rs. 3.6cr. Following the ransom letter and initial investigations by state police, the case was transferred to the CID.
The boy was murdered seven days after being abducted
After questioning more than 200 people in the case, authorities had a breakthrough after they found a video on Bakshi's phone showing Yug pleading for his life. The three were arrested on August 22, 2016, following which they confessed to killing Yug just seven days after the abduction, even before they sent the ransom letter. Subsequently, Yug's remains were recovered from a water tank.
Yug was tortured and forced to drink liquor
Interrogations further revealed that Yug had been kept naked, tortured, and had been forced to drink liquor for seven days before being murdered. On June 21, 2014, the perpetrators took Yug to a water storage tank, tied him to a heavy stone, and dumped him alive. The three were arrested in 2016 under Sections 364, 347, 302, 201, and 34 of the IPC.
