Shimla, Sept 26,
Residents of Shimla on Tuesday took to the streets in large numbers to protest against the Himachal Pradesh High Court’s verdict in the notorious Yug murder case. The protestors, carrying placards and chanting slogans, marched from the DC’s office to Sher-e-Punjab, demanding capital punishment for the convicts.
The outrage comes a day after a double bench of the High Court commuted the death sentence of two convicts, Chander Sharma and Vikrant Bakshi, to life imprisonment, while acquitting Tejinder Pal Singh due to lack of evidence. This verdict overturned the 2018 ruling of the district court, which had sentenced all three accused to death for the kidnapping and murder of four-year-old Yug.
During the protest, Yug’s parents and relatives wore black blindfolds as a mark of dissent. “The law has become blind, and that is why we are wearing this,†said Vinod Gupta, father of the victim. Expressing his anguish, Gupta added, “Despite strong evidence, one of the accused has been acquitted. We will challenge this decision in the Supreme Court and continue our fight for justice until our last breath.â€
The case dates back to June 14, 2014, when Yug was kidnapped from Shimla. Despite immediate complaints and a police search, the child remained untraced until August 2016, when CID investigations led to the arrest of Vikrant Bakshi. Later, Yug’s skeletal remains were recovered from a water tank in Bharari. His murder shocked the entire state.
In September 2018, the trial court had convicted and sentenced all three accused to death, terming it one of the “rarest of rare†cases. The High Court’s reversal of that verdict has triggered rare public outrage, with residents accusing the justice system of failing the victim’s family.
With the family now determined to approach the Supreme Court, the case is set to continue its long legal battle, even as Shimla residents demand exemplary punishment to deter crimes against children.
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