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Zirakpur blind murder cracked: BCA student among 2 held for murdering man, robbing ₹10 lakh
The accused had bludgeoned the victim to death with a brick after he had resisted a robbery bid near the intersection on November 7, said Mohali police
Over two weeks after a man was found dead, with his limbs bound, near Chhat light point in Zirakpur, police have cracked the blind murder case with the arrest of two youths.
The accused had bludgeoned the victim to death with a brick after he had resisted a robbery bid near the intersection on November 7, said police. The victim’s decomposed body was discovered four days later with hands and legs tied.
He was eventually identified as Rana Pratap Singh, a resident of Rajpura and field officer at a private security company.
Sharing details of the case during a press conference on Friday, Mohali SSP Deepak Pareek said Rana Pratap Singh was last seen on November 7, leaving for Zirakpur on his motorcycle (PB39-L-8123).
On November 11, his decomposing body was found near the Chhat light point, following which his brother Pramod Singh had alerted the police.
A murder case under Sections 103 and 3 (5) of the BNS was subsequently registered at the Zirakpur police station.
The post-mortem report confirmed that Rana died from head injuries inflicted with a blunt object. Launching a probe, a team, led by SP (Investigation) Jyoti Yadav, identified and arrested the accused through technical surveillance and intelligence.
Accused met during job interview
The accused, Sahil Kumar, 23, and Charanjit Singh, alias Charan, 22, were arrested from Aerocity, Mohali, and LIC Colony, Kharar, respectively.
Sahil, a resident of Kurukshetra, Haryana, is married and a Class 12 graduate, while Charanjit, originally from Old Delhi, is an unmarried. Living in Kharar currently, he is pursuing second-year BCA, said police.
During interrogation, they revealed that they had met each other three months ago during interviews at a BPO company in Sector 83, Mohali.
According to police, the duo planned a robbery near Chhat light point on November 7. Spotting Rana Pratap Singh, they forced him to a secluded spot at knifepoint, demanding his phone and digital payment credentials. When he resisted, they attacked him with a brick, killing him. They later transferred ₹10.66 lakh from his account to Sahil’s account using the ReddyBook mobile app.
The accused also admitted to committing two previous robberies. On September 29, they had snatched ₹28,220 from a victim near Aerocity and in mid-October, they robbed ₹50,000 from a car driver in Zirakpur.
Police have recovered the victim’s mobile phone used in the fraudulent transactions. The accused were produced in court and police remand has been obtained for further investigation.
