Four sentenced to life for jeweller’s murder in Yamunanagar

A court in Yamunanagar has sentenced four men to life imprisonment for the 2018 abduction and murder of jeweller Sanjeev Khanna. The murder was motivated by greed, with the accused targeting 13 kilograms of gold and Rs 30 lakh in cash.The case, officially titled State vs Yogesh Suri, concluded nearly seven years after the crime, following prolonged legal proceedings. Additional sessions judge Danish Gupta pronounced the verdict, convicting all four accused of murder, criminal conspiracy, kidnapping, and destruction of evidence.On June 28, 2018, Sanjeev Khanna was lured by the accused—led by goldsmith Yogesh Kumar—under the guise of repaying a debt involving 13 kilograms of gold and Rs 30 lakh in cash. While en route in a car, the accused killed Khanna and dumped his body in an agricultural field near Rajpura village in Shahzadpur, Ambala.The accused initially tried to mislead investigators by parking Khanna’s car at a hospital and falsely claiming that they had returned the gold and money to him. In a further act of deception, they even joined the victim’s family in the search for him. However, growing suspicions led Khanna’s relatives to alert the police, ultimately leading to the suspects' arrest. During interrogation, all four confessed to the crime.Judge Danish Gupta described the murder as a "planned and brutal conspiracy." All four accused were sentenced to life imprisonment for murder (Section 302) along with a fine of Rs 25,000 each, with failure to pay resulting in an additional year of imprisonment. They were also sentenced to 7 years of rigorous imprisonment under Section 120-B (criminal conspiracy), with a Rs 15,000 fine and an additional 6-month jail term for non-payment. Under Section 201 (destruction of evidence), they received 3 years of rigorous imprisonment and a Rs 5,000 fine, with failure to pay leading to an additional 2 months in jail. All sentences will run concurrently. This verdict brings closure to a chilling case that shocked Yamunanagar’s business community, reinforcing the judiciary’s firm stance against crimes driven by greed and personal gain.