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Patiala: Man held for killing live-in partner, burning body to destroy evidence
The accused has been identified as Gagandeep Singh, a resident of Panjola village in Patiala. The victim, Kamalpreet Kaur, 28, had been living with him in a rented accommodation in the Sular area.
The Patiala police on Friday arrested a man for allegedly killing his live-in partner and burning her body to destroy evidence in a tile factory earlier this year.
The accused has been identified as Gagandeep Singh, a resident of Panjola village in Patiala. The victim, Kamalpreet Kaur, 28, had been living with him in a rented accommodation in the Sular area.
According to the police, the crime took place on February 23 this year. Gagandeep allegedly shot Kamalpreet with his licensed pistol and later disposed of her body by burning it in his tile factory in the evening in a bid to eliminate evidence.
The case came to light nearly two months later, in April, following a complaint by Jagsir Singh, the victim’s brother.
He alleged that on April 7, he was informed by a relative that Gagandeep had shot dead Kamalpreet.
He claimed that the accused, along with an associate identified as Rajvir, cremated the body at a tiles factory in Mardheri village and later immersed the ashes at Gurdwara Garhi Sahib in Samana to destroy evidence.
The breakthrough in the case came after Kamalpreet’s cousin reportedly overheard Gagandeep confessing to the murder while speaking to a friend at a roadside dhaba, prompting the family to approach the police.
According to the complaint, Kamalpreet was married to Sandeep Singh of Rangola village in Sangrur district in 2017. However, she had been living separately from her husband and returned to her parental home in Patiala shortly after the marriage.
In 2022, she came in contact with Gagandeep, who allegedly posed as unmarried. The two entered into a live-in relationship and had been living together for the past four years.
Investigations further revealed that Gagandeep was already married. The relationship reportedly led to frequent disputes between him and his wife after she came to know about the affair. Despite repeated attempts by the complainant to resolve the matter, the live-in relationship continued.
Confirming the arrest, DSP (Rural) Harsimran Singh said, “The accused, Gagandeep of Panjola village, has been arrested for the murder of his live-in partner. He killed her using his licensed pistol on February 23 and later burnt her body in his tile factory to destroy evidence. The matter surfaced in April after the victim’s cousin overheard the accused confessing to the crime at a dhaba. During investigation, it also came to light that the accused was already married and had misled the victim about his marital status.”
Police said a case has been registered against the accused under Sections 103 and 238 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
Gagandeep will be produced before a local court on Saturday, where the police will seek his remand for further interrogation to ascertain further details.
