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Punjab crime: Woman, daughter shot dead in Jalandhar, US-based son-in-law booked
Two assailants barge into house at Bhujewal village soon after woman’s husband leaves to drop grandson to school, open fire at point-blank range before setting the mother’s body on fire
A 58-year-old woman and her 32-year-old daughter were shot dead by two masked assailants at their house in Bhujewal village of Jalandhar district on Tuesday morning.
The two motorcycle-borne youngsters barged into the house of Ranjit Kaur and her daughter Gurpreet Kaur and opened fire at them from point-blank range. The accused poured petrol on Ranjit Kaur’s body and set it ablaze before fleeing.
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Senior superintendent of police Mukhwinder Singh Bhullar said initial probe pointed to the role of Gurpreet’s US-based estranged husband, Jaswinder Singh, alias Jassa, in hiring contract killers to eliminate his mother-in-law and wife.
Suspected wife of illicit relations
Jaswinder, who belonged to Munnowal village in Hoshiarpur district, suspected his wife of having an illicit relationship with his friend and former business partner, Inderjit Singh of Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar.
“Jaswinder married Gurpreet eight years ago. He moved to the United States eight months ago following which he started suspecting his wife and his friend of being involved in an illicit relationship,” SSP Bhullar said.
On Tuesday morning, Gurpreet’s father, Jagtar Singh, had gone to drop her five-year-old son to school when the two assailants entered the house and murdered the women.
To destroy evidence, they set ablaze Ranjit’s body.
Police and forensic teams rushed to the spot. CCTV footage shows the two masked men approaching and leaving the house.
Bid on life of ex-business partner in Zirakpur
SSP Bhullar said on July 21, Jaswinder had also conspired to kill Inderjit Singh at a market in Zirakpur town of Mohali district.
The assailants intercepted Inderjit’s car and fired multiple shots, injuring him in the chest, while a bullet pierced the thigh of his friend, Satinder Singh. Both survived the attack. The Mohali police booked Jaswinder for attempt to murder.
The SSP said it appears that the two assailants, who committed the double murder in Jalandhar, were involved in the Zirakpur incident. “We have zeroed in on both the men and teams have been rushed to different parts of Doaba to arrest them,” he said.
A case was registered under Sections 302 (murder), 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC and the Arms Act against Jaswinder and the two assailants.
The police said that complainant Jagtar Singh had also accused Jaswinder’s family member of conspiring to kill his wife and daughter.
Jaswinder and Inderjit ran a drug de-addiction centre in Himachal Pradesh’s Una before they fell out. Inderjit had confronted Jaswinder for carrying out illegal activities while running the centre, police sources said.
