Wife among 4 arrested for murder of ex-bank manager

Notably, the deceased, Balbir Singh Chahal (67), was stabbed to death with a knife during the wee hours on Friday while he was out for morning walk in a VIP area of Patiala

The Patiala police on Saturday claimed to have solved the blind murder of a retired bank manager in 48 hours by arresting his (victim) wife and three others.

The police said the accused, Harpreet Kaur (37), was his second wife and had committed the crime in compliance with her aide, Gurtej Singh, for the victim’s property.

The police said the accused, Harpreet Kaur (37), was his second wife and had committed the crime in compliance with her aide, Gurtej Singh, for the victim’s property.

Notably, the deceased, Balbir Singh Chahal (67), was stabbed to death with a knife during the wee hours on Friday while he was out for morning walk in a VIP area of Patiala.

Other accused persons have been identified as Ajay and Arshpreet Singh. The police said they had already recovered the murder weapon (knife) and motorcycle used in the crime.

The police said Harpreet Kaur got married to Balbir Singh in 2005 after Balbir got divorced from his first wife.

Patiala SSP Varun Sharma said accused Harpreet Kaur had met Gurtej Singh (who was also a married man) at a gym in Patiala last year and they planned to murder her husband.

Patiala CIA in-charge Shaminder Singh said there was no CCTV footage of the crime or accused fleeing the spot after murdering Balbir Singh. Moreover, Balbir didn’t have any enmity with anyone.

“Since it was not a case of theft, we immediately shifted the focus of our investigation towards the possible involvement of his wife and ex-wife (who was in Canada). During probe, we got to know about the relationship of deceased’s wife and accused Gurtej Singh,” said the police, adding that Gurtej and his accomplices, who were working as labourers in the same village, did a recce for a few days before they executed their plan to murder Balbir Singh.

Deputy superintendent of police (Investigation) Sukhamrit Singh Randhwa said the accused would be produced in a court and police remand would be sought. “After getting police remand, we will thoroughly interrogate all accused about more details of the crime,” said the DSP.