The Punjab Police constable, who gunned down his live-in partner with his service rifle before shooting himself, was absent from duty on the day of the murder.
Police officials, privy to the matter, said Simranjit Singh was supposed to be on patrolling duty on March 19, the day of the crime, and had been allotted an AK-47 rifle to discharge his duty. However, as per his colleague, Simranjit Singh disappeared after some time without informing anybody.
The colleague said before he left, Simranjit Singh had been speaking to someone over the phone, and seemed agitated.
The ammunition wing in-charge told officers, who went through the records, that the constable had been directed to deposit his service weapon as soon as he was done for the day.
The constable was admitted to Dayanand Medical College and Hospital, while the victim Nidhi died on the spot. The doctors have removed one of the bullets from his body, while a bullet is still lodged in his stomach.
Sub-inspector Harpreet Singh, station house officer at the Haibowal police station, said it was not clear why the murder accused took the extreme step, and they are waiting for him to regain consciousness.