Over four months after a 38-year-old woman was found murdered in a hotel room in Lohgarh, Zirakpur, on May 1, police have cracked the case with the arrest of her live-in partner.
After smothering the woman to death, the accused, Paramjit Singh, alias Sonu Narang, 40, had parked his scooter near the Sirhind canal to pass off his disappearance as suicide and fled to Ludhiana, said police.
Addressing the media on Thursday, Mohali senior superintendent of police (SSP) Sandeep Garg said the victim, Babita, hailed from Kangra, Himachal Pradesh. She was found dead in a room at Hotel Shaan in Lohgarh, Zirakpur, on May 1.
Babita had checked into the hotel with Paramjit and his two minor children, claiming that they had sold their property in Himachal Pradesh and will be staying at the hotel till they buy a a house in Zirakpur.
As per hotel management, the man had given his Aadhaar card for booking the room, which reflected his name as Suneet and native as Kangra, Himachal Pradesh.
The hotel staff in their statement to the police had said that the man left the hotel with the two children on April 30 morning and returned alone in the afternoon, before again walking out around 11 pm. When the housekeeping staff knocked on the room’s door on May 1, there was no response.
{{/usCountry}}The hotel staff in their statement to the police had said that the man left the hotel with the two children on April 30 morning and returned alone in the afternoon, before again walking out around 11 pm. When the housekeeping staff knocked on the room’s door on May 1, there was no response.
{{/usCountry}}After waiting till afternoon, the hotel management opened the door with the master key and were shocked to find the woman dead, with her nose bleeding profusely.
Following the body’s discovery, police had registered a case under Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code and started investigation into the matter.
Led by superintendent of police (SP, Rural) Manpreet Singh, a team, including Zirakpur SHO inspector Simarjeet Singh and other law enforcement officials, initiated a rigorous probe to trace the absconding killer.
“The team analysed the available clues and evidence collected from the crime scene, following which they zeroed in on Paramjit, Babita’s live-in partner, as the primary suspect,” said the SSP.
The team traced Paramjit’s movements after the crime, which led them to Sirhind Canal. There, the suspect had abandoned his scooter in a calculated attempt to mislead authorities by creating the impression of a suicide.
However, undeterred by his tactics, the team, with the help of technical and human intelligence, traced Paramjit to Ludhiana, where he had been hiding since the commission of the crime, the SSP added.
The motive and circumstances surrounding the murder are still under investigation, he said. The woman’s family is settled in Bholath, Kapurthala, after leaving Kangra.