Punjab Police constable who shot woman, self had been living with victim

The Punjab Police constable and the murder victim had posed as a married couple while renting their house in Ludhiana, but their relations were strained and the accused would often hit the victim and her children

A day after a Punjab Police constable gunned down a 31-year-old woman in front of her children and then shot himself in Joshi Nagar, the accused, Simranjit Singh, was booked for murder on Sunday.

On March 19, the Punjab Police constable did not deposit his service revolver after finishing for the day, and took it to his house in Ludhiana. (Representative Image/HT File)

Cops have learnt that the accused had been living with the victim, Nidhi, who is married, for one-and-a-half year. They had posed to be a married couple while renting their house, but their relations were strained and the accused would hit Nidhi and her children, who referred to him as ‘chachu’ (father’s younger brother. The victim’s husband lives in South Africa.

It is suspected that the accused had been planning the murder for a few days. On March 19, the constable did not deposit his service revolver after finishing for the day, and took it to his house where he shot Nidhi with an AK 47, and then shot himself. He was admitted to Dayanand Medical College and Hospital.

Additional deputy commissioner of police (ADCP, city 3) Ashwini Gotyal said it wasn’t clear why the constable took the extreme step and they are waiting to record his statement. Sub-inspector Harpreet Singh, Haibowal station house officer, said they recovered an AK-47 and six bullet shells from the spot.

As per the postmortem report, Nidhi sustained three bullet injuries, one of which was on the head. Simranjit sustained two bullets wounds in the stomach and was operated on Sunday.