E-Paper
Ludhiana: 27-yr-old man sentenced to life for kidnapping, killing minor boy
Additional sessions judge Sandeep Singh Bajwa of the fast-track special court held the accused guilty under Sections 364-A (kidnapping for ransom), 302 (murder) and 201 (causing disappearance of evidence) of the Indian Penal Code
A Ludhiana court on Friday convicted 27-year-old Gurvir Singh, alias Gavy, for kidnapping a minor boy for ransom, murdering him by drowning and disposing of the body to destroy evidence, bringing closure to a chilling crime that had shocked the Jagraon area in 2019.
Additional sessions judge Sandeep Singh Bajwa of the fast-track special court held the accused guilty under Sections 364-A (kidnapping for ransom), 302 (murder) and 201 (causing disappearance of evidence) of the Indian Penal Code. The court sentenced Gurvir Singh to rigorous imprisonment for life on the charges of murder and kidnapping for ransom, along with fines totalling ₹4.05 lakh. All sentences will run concurrently.
The case dates back to June 30, 2019, when 15-year-old Anmolpreet Singh, a resident of Malak village near Jagraon, left home in the evening to play and never returned. Later that night, a WhatsApp message demanding ₹20 lakh as ransom was sent to the phone of the boy’s friend, with threats that the child would be killed if the family informed the police.
During the investigation, police found that Anmolpreet was last seen in the company of then 19-year-old Gurvir, who took him away in a white Maruti Zen car. Within days, the accused was arrested and the vehicle was recovered. The probe led to the recovery of slippers belonging to the victim from the car and from a spot identified by the accused near the Akhara canal in Dalla village. Shortly thereafter, Anmolpreet’s body was recovered from the canal, and the post-mortem confirmed death due to drowning.
The prosecution relied heavily on circumstantial evidence, including last-seen testimonies, recovery of material evidence and forensic reports. Cyber forensic analysis established that the ransom message was sent from a WhatsApp Business number used by the accused, conclusively linking him to the crime. The court noted that although there was no direct eyewitness to the murder, the chain of circumstances was complete and left no room for any other conclusion except the guilt of the accused.
Rejecting the defence plea that the evidence was weak and witnesses were interested, the court observed that minor inconsistencies did not dent the core prosecution case, which was supported by independent witnesses and scientific evidence. The judge also drew an adverse inference from the accused’s failure to explain how the victim, last seen in his company, died.
On the question of sentence, the court declined to award the death penalty, holding that the case did not fall within the “rarest of rare” category, particularly as the conviction was based on circumstantial evidence. However, noting the gravity of the crime involving a minor, the court imposed life imprisonment and directed that ₹3 lakh from the fine amount be paid as compensation to the legal heirs of the deceased.
Advocate KS Mand, counsel for the complainant, said that the verdict marks the end of a six-year-legal battle for the family of Anmolpreet Singh, whose kidnapping and murder had triggered widespread outrage in the region.
The convict Gurvir Singh Gavy was a Youth Akali Dal (YAD) activist from Jagraon’s Malak village. He was a commerce graduate and was planning to move abroad.
