A court in Ludhiana has handed down a life imprisonment sentence to a man found guilty of the brutal kidnapping and murder of a 15-year-old schoolboy in 2019. The crime, which followed a botched attempt to extract a ransom, was described in chilling detail during the trial.
The Chilling Kidnap and Ransom Demand
The case dates back to June 30, 2019. The victim, Anmolpreet Singh, a student from Jagraon, left his home around 6:30 PM to play but never returned. Later that evening, the boy's father, Hardeep Singh, was informed of a terrifying WhatsApp message. The message, sent from a foreign number to one of Anmolpreet's friends, issued a direct threat.
It read, "Go and tell [the father] that his son is with us. If you talk to anyone, the boy will be killed. By tomorrow 10 am, deliver Rs 20 lakh... neither the police nor any villager should talk to anyone... my eyes are on you."
Despite the explicit warning against involving authorities, the distressed father approached the Sadar Jagraon police, who immediately launched an investigation.
Investigation Breakthrough and Arrest
The key breakthrough came from an eyewitness, Sukhminder Singh. He reported seeing the teenage victim getting into a white car with the accused, Gurvir Singh of Malak village, at approximately 7:30 PM on the night of the disappearance.
Acting on this crucial lead, the police apprehended Gurvir Singh on July 3, 2019. Shortly after his arrest, the authorities made a grim discovery. They recovered the body of Anmolpreet Singh from a canal near the Akhara bridge.
Court Verdict and Sentencing
The trial was conducted in a fast-track court presided over by Additional Sessions Judge Sandeep Singh Bajwa. Throughout the proceedings, the convict, Gurvir Singh, maintained his innocence, claiming he had been falsely implicated.
However, Judge Bajwa firmly rejected this defence. The court noted a "clear and unbroken chain of events" that conclusively linked the accused to the crime. The evidence established that Gurvir Singh was the last person seen with the boy before his death.
"The accused has offered no explanation for Anmolpreet Singh's death by drowning and has provided no evidence to support his defence," the court observed. It concluded that Gurvir Singh was solely responsible for the kidnapping, the Rs 20 lakh ransom demand, the murder, and the subsequent disposal of the body.
On delivering the verdict, Judge Bajwa sentenced Gurvir Singh to life imprisonment. The court also imposed a fine of over Rs 4 lakh on the convict.
Why the Death Penalty Was Not Awarded
In determining the sentence, the court considered but ultimately ruled out capital punishment. Under Indian law, the death penalty is reserved exclusively for the "rarest of rare" cases.
Judge Bajwa observed that while the crime was undoubtedly heinous and brutal, the specific circumstances did not meet the exceptionally strict legal standards required to warrant an execution. This judicial reasoning underscores the high threshold applied by Indian courts before imposing the ultimate sentence.
