4 times life imprisonment till death to 3 for abducting, killing Satna twins
A local court in Madhya Pradesh’s Satna district on Monday awarded life imprisonment till death to five persons accused of abducting and killing five-year-old twins in the district in February 2019, said a lawyer
A local court in Madhya Pradesh’s Satna district on Monday awarded life imprisonment till death to five persons accused of abducting and killing five-year-old twins in the district in February 2019, said a lawyer.

In a high profile case, which kept MP and UP police on toes for 12 days, the six accused kidnapped twins, Priyansh and Shreyansh Rawat, from a school bus at a gunpoint in Chitrakoot on February 12, 2019. The accused have been identified as Raju alias Rakesh Dwivedi, Lucky Singh Tomar, Rohit Dwivedi and Ramkesh Yadav - all residents of Banda district in Uttar Pradesh - Pintoo Yadav, a resident of Hamirpur district in Uttar Pradesh, and Padm Shukla, a resident of Nayagaon, Chitrakoot.
Later, the twins’ bodies were recovered from Yamuna river on February 24.
Additional district prosecution officer (ADPO), Dharmendra Singh, said, “The main accused, Ramkesh Yadav, was the tutor of the twins and planned the abduction. After receiving a ransom amount of ₹20 lakh, the accused killed the twins as they had seen the tutor.”
“Ramkesh Yadav died by suicide in the jail in May 2019 and other accused are lodged in the jail. The police filed a 230-page charge-sheet having enough evidence against them to prove them guilty,” said Singh.
“The three accused Padm, Raju and Lucky have been sentenced to life imprisonment till death four times for the kidnapping and murder of both the children and a fine of ₹1.7 lakh. The accused Vikramjit Singh and Apoorva Yadav were found guilty of abduction, criminal conspiracy and arms act and were sentenced double life imprisonment said Hari Krishna Tripathi, media in-charge of prosecution.
“Priyansh Rawat and Shreyansh Rawat were abducted by accused Padmakant and Raju from the bus. The accused kept the kids in a rented accommodation about a kilometre away from the school. Raju and Padmakant went to Banda, UP to demand ransom of ₹2 crore from their father Brijesh Rawat. On February 18, they received ₹20 lakh. But the kids had seen Ramkesh Yadav so Padmakant, Raju and Lucky took the children in an SUV to Augasi Ghat district Banda on the Yamuna river and strangulated them to death. They threw the bodies in the river after tying with chains, nets and stones,” said Tripthai
Meanwhile, the victims’ father, Brijesh Rawat, expressed dissatisfaction. “I failed. Injustice was done with my innocent kids who were killed for money. I am upset with judgement as these culprits should be hanged till death,” he said.
ABOUT THE AUTHORShruti TomarI have spent over a decade chronicling Madhya Pradesh’s political and social landscape, covering politics, investigative journalism, crime, human interest, and government policy, blending sharp insight with ground‑level depth. I have closely tracked three assembly elections, three Lok Sabha elections, leadership transitions in MP while exposing governance lapses, tender irregularities, and flawed policy rollouts. My reports have revealed gaps in the Cheetah project, irregularities in medical education, rigging in recruitment exams, and loopholes in policy implementation. In crime reporting, I have moved beyond FIRs to map systemic patterns — from organised crime networks and gender‑based violence to custodial accountability — balancing urgency with sensitivity. My journalism is defined by a commitment to human interest. I have profiled the marginalised Bancchda community, documented atrocities against tribal groups, and highlighted efforts to preserve their culture through heritage liquor and revival of spiritual practices. I have reported on farmers struggling with failed MSP promises, giving voice to those often reduced to statistics in policy files. Passionate about field reporting, I have reported on rampant sand mining in Chambal and Narmada, pharmaceutical companies supplying medicines under altered names, the dire condition of schools and colleges, the plight of commercial sex workers, and skewed sex ratios in specific districts. Beyond deadlines, and as HT’s state correspondent and assistant editor in Madhya Pradesh, I engage with ministers, farmers, students, and activists, believing the best policy stories begin with a single human voice. A postgraduate in Journalism and Mass Communication, I also hold a diploma in sports journalism.Read More

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