Elderly man killed at his house in Kharar, mason held

Mason’s accomplice is on the run; the duo had done paint work at elderly man’s house in Kharar, returned to loot him

A mason has been arrested for allegedly killing a 71-year-old man, who was found murdered at his house at Bhagomajra in Kharar on Friday morning. His accomplice is absconding.

Ravinder Singh Rangi, 71, who was found murdered at his house in Bhagomajra, Kharar.

The duo had carried out repair and paint work at the house recently, and returned with the motive to loot the elderly man, who was staying alone, police said after making the arrest on Saturday.

The victim has been identified as Ravinder Singh Rangi, who had retired as a superintendent from the Punjab and Haryana high court. The accused have been identified as Itzaar and Monu, both migrants from Uttar Pradesh.

While Itzaar has been arrested, Monu is still at large, said Harjeet Singh, senior superintendent of police (SSP), Mohali. Police have also recovered ₹30,000 stolen from the victim’s house. The accused have been booked under Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code, and will be produced in court on Sunday.

Used sofa cushion, gas stove burner

Rangi’s wife had died in a road accident in 2009. His son is staying in Australia, while one daughter is in Italy and another in Samrala. The elderly man had employed two women as domestic helps, who stay in the neighbouring village and used to come to do household chores during the day.

The murder came to light around 8 am on Friday when one of the domestic helps arrived for work. She found the main door ajar and the elderly man’s body lying on the floor in the kitchen with blood oozing out of the head.

When police arrived, they found the entire house had been ransacked. Rangi’s mobile phone was missing, though his laptop and ₹2,700 were found in the house.

According to police, the accused had first tried to choke Rangi with the help of a sofa cushion, and had also hit him on the head with a gas stove burner. Both items were recovered from the spot.

How police zeroed in on the duo

According to Rangi’s relatives and neighbours quizzed by police, Rangi usually kept the main door latched and opened it only for known persons, which gave the investigating officers their first clue.

Tracing people who had recently come in contact with the elderly man, police tried to find Itzaar and Monu, who had carried out repairs and paint work at the house. However, the two were missing from their houses at Bhagomajra village, which raised suspicion.

Itzaar was finally nabbed near the Sohana T-point with the help of technical surveillance and human intelligence, said police.

According to sources, the two had gained entry into Rangi’s house on pretext of taking their balance payment. Police said the duo were aware of money being kept in the house, as Rangi used to give loans on interest and even worked as an insurance agent after retirement. After killing him, the accused searched the house, but could find only ₹30,000, which they stole.