E-Paper
Harike triple murder cracked with arrest of 1
Rajasthan native had strangled couple, their relative to death at their house near Harike on November 8 to loot valuables; weapons, fake currency with face value of ₹5.5 lakh recovered, say police
Two weeks after three members of a family were found strangled to death at their house in Tung village near Harike on November 8, police have cracked the case with the arrest of a 35-year-old man from Rajasthan, while search is on for his three accomplices.
With the arrest of Mandeep Singh, alias Baba, police also recovered a .315-bore rifle, along with 37 rounds, a .32-bore country made pistol, a toy pistol, fake currency with face value of ₹5.5 lakh, paper used for making fake currency and a Maruti Suzuki Swift car.
On November, Iqbal Singh, 55, his wife, Lakhwinder Kaur, 52, and his sister-in-law (brother’s wife) Seeta Kaur, 50, were found murdered with their limbs tied and mouths taped.
During investigation of the case, the family’s domestic help, Ashok Kumar of Bihar, was found missing. On returning later, he had told police that some unidentified men, one of whom had recently stayed at Iqbal’s house, abducted him after killing the three family members. He was later let go near Bangaliwala bridge.
Addressing a press conference, Tarn Taran senior superintendent of police (SSP) Ashwani Kapur said a special team was constituted to identify and arrest the accused. “Following probe, Mandeep was traced to Rampura Phul. Our team laid a trap and arrested him,” the SSP said.
He said, “The accused was known to a man who was friends with Iqbal. A few days before committing the crime, the accused, with his aide, had spent a night at Iqbal’s house. On the day of the crime, Mandeep had come with three more associates. The accused strangled the three family members before looting their valuable items.”
According to the SSP, Mandeep is already facing six criminal cases, including five in Rajasthan. “We are working to nab his three accomplices,” he added.
The accused are facing charges under Sections 460 (all persons jointly concerned in lurking house-trespass or house-breaking by night punishable where death or grievous hurt caused by one of them) of the Indian Penal Code.
