Pydhonie murder: Belgian detained for provoking hearing, speech-impaired accused

Jagpalpreet Kamal Singh, 50, was detained after members of mute and hearing-impaired groups in Brussels informed the police about videos he had shared

MUMBAI: The Belgian police have detained a Brussels-based person of Indian origin who had allegedly provoked two men with speech and hearing impairments to kill their friend over a petty issue.

Pydhonie murder case: Belgian national detained for provoking hearing, speech-impaired accused

Jagpalpreet Kamal Singh, 50, who is also speech- and hearing-impaired, was detained after members of mute and hearing-impaired groups in Brussels informed the police about videos he had shared on the community’s WhatsApp group that allegedly showed his involvement in the murder, which took place in Mumbai in August. Singh will be tried in Brussels, as India does not have an extradition treaty with Belgium.

The Pydhonie police had arrested two men, Jay Chavda and Shivjeet Singh, after a government railway police constable discovered a body inside their suitcase at Dadar railway station on August 5. The victim was later identified as Arshad Ali Sadiq Ali Shaikh, 30, a resident of Kalina.

During the investigation, the police discovered that Shaikh was tortured by the two accused, who had tortured, stripped and tied him up, made a video of them beating him, and then killed him. After the murder, they stuffed his body into a suitcase and headed to Dadar railway station to catch an outstation train when an alert GRP constable apprehended them. The police later arrested Rukshana Arshad Shaikh, the wife of the deceased, who they claimed was having an extramarital affair with Chavda and was aware of the conspiracy to kill her husband.

A team headed by deputy commissioner of police Mohit Garg and senior police inspector Balkrishna Deshmukh of the Pydhonie police station later discovered that the accused had made several video calls to a certain Jagpalpreet Kamal Singh, a native of Phagwara in Punjab who was based in Brussels.

According to the police, Singh had provoked the accused during the video calls and instructed them how to torture, beat and kill Arshad Shaikh. Apart from Chavda’s affair with Rukshana Shaikh, there was also a dispute over supremacy in the group, the police said, where Arshad Shaikh was competing with Singh. This was why Singh himself posted the videos of him provoking and instructing the two accused on the community’s WhatsApp group, the police added.

The police then issued a lookout circular (LoC) and a Blue Corner Notice against Singh, who is settled in Belgium with his family. “We have even visited his native place in Punjab and gathered information relating to him,” said a police officer. “However, it was communicated to us by Belgium via Indian agencies, especially the Ministry of External Affairs, about the detention of Singh via the videos that were circulated.”

The Brussels police have kept Singh under observation. While India does not have an extradition treaty with Belgium, the Brussels police have told the Pydhonie police that they could try Singh in Belgium if they are provided with the documents. “We will be filing a charge sheet in the case at the earliest,” said the police officer. “We will get permissions from various departments, get the charge sheet translated into English, and then send it to Belgium so that the authorities there can try Singh or deport him.”