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5 years on, Mohali police arrest Punjabi singer Navjot Singh’s killer
The 22-year-old singer was found dead with five gunshot wounds near a factory plot in Dera Bassi town of Mohali district in 2018
Over five years after Punjabi singer Navjot Singh, also known as Isapuria Virk, was shot dead in Dera Bassi in May 2018, the crime investigation agency (CIA) of Mohali police has cracked the case with the arrest of one of the killers.
The 22-year-old victim was shot dead by two robbers while resisting a carjacking attempt. The robbers had escaped without the car, leaving Navjot bleeding to death. His body was found near a factory plot in Dera Bassi the same night, said police.
The arrested accused is Abhishek, 25, alias Rajat Rana, a native of Shamli district, Uttar Pradesh, who was just 20 when he attacked the victim with his accomplice, Sourav, of Sultanpur Barwala, Haryana.
Sourav died in 2022 due to drug overdose, said police. Both were members of the Uttar Pradesh-based Rahul Khatta gang.
Abhishek was already in the custody of the Uttar Pradesh police in connection with a criminal case and was brought to Mohali on production warrant.
Victim had left home for music class
The victim, hailed from Behra village, Dera Bassi. On the day of the murder, he had left home for a music class, but did not return by the expected time in the evening.
Revealing details, Mohali senior superintendent of police (SSP) Sandeep Kumar Garg explained that the killers’ intention was to snatch a car for another sensational crime amid an inter-gang conflict. While travelling from Barwala to Dera Bassi on May 28, 2023, the accused came across the victim’s car.
Saurav attempted to snatch the car at gunpoint, but Navjot resisted, leading to a scuffle. During the tussle, Navjot fell and the assailants opened fire at him, before fleeing the scene without the car, said the SSP. Navjot’s body was traced the same night after his family launched a search and alerted the police.
“During investigation, police considered various angles, including personal motives, but interrogation revealed that the primary motive was carjacking. We couldn’t identify any personal enmity motive. On the day of the murder, the victim was returning from his music class when the accused intercepted his car. Attempting to snatch the vehicle, the accused fired a minimum of five shots, resulting in the victim’s immediate death on the spot,” he explained.
Human, technical intelligence helped track down killer
The SSP said a crucial lead from a human source, coupled with extensive technical analysis spanning four years, eventually led police to identify the accused.
The 9 mm weapon used in the murder was already seized by the Raipur Rani police in Haryana in 2019. “We will recover the weapon from the police station concerned and send it for forensic investigation,” added Garg.
As per police, Abhishek is named in a total of seven FIRs — four in Uttar Pradesh, two in Haryana and one in Punjab. Mohali police are verifying the Punjab-related case information.
Following the murder in 2018, police had registered a case against unidentified accused under Section 302 (murder) and 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the Indian Penal Code, and Section 25 (illegal possession of arms) of the Arms Act.
