2 Hoshiarpur men to hang in Patiala for minor’s murder

HOSHIARPUR: As their mercy petition has already been rejected by the President, two Hoshiarpur men — Vikram Walia alias Vicky and Jasbir Singh — are set to be hanged in Patiala jail in the case of abducting and killing a 16-year-old boy Abhi Verma in 2005. The court of Hoshiarpur sessions judge has issued the death warrant for them for October 25, which has been served on to the superintendent of Patiala jail.
Walia and Jasbir had abducted Abhi on February 14, 2005 for demanding ransom but gave him sedatives in high dose that killed him.
Abhi was kept confined in a house where Walia was living before the boy was killed and his body was then dumped in Jalandhar district which was later recovered on the basis of information provided by them.
Earlier, the trial court had awarded death sentence to Walia and Jasbir and his wife Sonia. In 2010, the Supreme Court commuted Sonia's death sentence to life imprisonment while upholding death for the other two stating that the case fell in the rarest of rare category.
They had abducted Abhi, whose father Ravi Verma was a goldsmith and known to them. Sonia was his tutor and Walia also knew Ravi well.
The three even went to the Vermas' house to express sympathy when news broke that the boy had been abducted. They kept on demanding ransom of Rs 50 lakh even after Abhi had died in their confinement. Abhi's father Ravi and mother Anita have expressed satisfaction saying the case was now reaching closure and they were getting justice.