Ludhiana: Class-12 student bludgeoned to death with bricks by youth, minor

The Class-12 student found dead in a sewer on Monday was murdered by his neighbour over suspicion of having an affair with the latter’s cousin, police said on Tuesday.

Sandeep Singh, alias Ravi, 22, of Baddowal village, and his minor accomplice have been arrested for the murder of Jashanpreet Singh, 18, resident of the same village.

Jashanpreet Singh, the victim.

Sandeep is also a Class-12 student, while the juvenile works at a sweet shop in the village.

Police have recovered the motorcycle used in the crime and the mobile phone of the victim, who was missing since November 21.

“Sandeep suspected Jashanpreet of having an affair with his cousin sister. Sandeep called him to Victoria Gardens colony in Baddowal on November 21, where, after consuming liquor, he indulged in a quarrel with Jashanpreet. There, he and the minor boy bludgeoned the victim with bricks,” said Charanjit Singh, senior superintendent of police (SSP), Ludhiana Rural.

After the victim lost consciousness, Sandeep dragged him for 50 metres and crushed his head with bricks, before dumping the body in a sewer with the intention of disposing of the body, the SSP added.

However, the body got stuck in iron rails as the sewer was not functional.

On November 23, village sarpanch Jaspreet Singh informed the police about the body. When the police received the information, the victim’s father, Gurdev Singh, was at the police station filing a missing person’s report for his son. Cops took him to the spot, where he identified the body as that of his son.

Following this, the Dakha police lodged a murder case against unidentified accused and initiated investigation.

Call details nailed accused

“According to the victim’s mother, Jashanpreet had left home on November 21 after receiving a phone call. But, he never returned and his phone was switched off,” said Gurbans Singh Bains, deputy superintendent of police (DSP, Dakha).

“When the police scanned the victim’s call details, they found a call from Sandeep and started zeroing in on him. As his mobile location was traced to Victoria Gardens at the time of the crime, he was arrested. Following his statement, his minor accomplice was also apprehended,” said the DSP.

“During questioning, the accused disclosed that they only wanted to threaten Jashanpreet to snap ties with Sandeep’s cousin, but attacked him in drunken stupor,” he added.

Police have added Section 201 (causing disappearance of evidence) of the Indian Penal Code to the murder case registered against the accused.

The accused will be produced in court on Wednesday.

The body was handed over to the family following autopsy at the Ludhiana civil hospital on Monday.

Jashanpreet is survived by his parents and an elder brother.

His father works for a brass band and mother is a homemaker. The family had shifted to Baddowal village over a month ago.

Minor turns 18 today

The juvenile nabbed in the murder case will celebrate his 18th birthday on November 25. When the police apprehended him on Tuesday, he was just one day short of attaining the age to be tried as an adult.

DSP Gurbans Singh Bains said as the accused was a minor at the time of his arrest, police will treat him as a juvenile. But, they will appeal in court to consider him an adult during the murder trial.