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70-year-old man found brutally murdered in Ludhiana’s Payal tehsil
No signs of robbery, burglary, police suspect old rivalry; the man resides in Fatehgarh Sahib and had come on a routine visit to Payal to inspect his ancestral house on July 3
A 70-year-old man was found brutally murdered in his house in Buyani village of Payal on Tuesday morning. The body was found in a decomposed state, leading police to suspect the man was murdered about three days ago. Neighbours had alerted the police after foul smell started emanating from the house.
The victim has been identified as Harjinder Singh, 70, of Buyani village. He had contested the 2012 assembly elections as an independent candidate from Payal but lost. His father, Ajmer Singh Jhajj, was a freedom fighter. The body was found dumped in the kitchen of the house, known as Purani Haveli. As per preliminary findings, the man was bludgeoned with a blunt weapon and strangled with a piece of cloth. The assailants had covered the body with sacks before fleeing.
Deputy commissioner of police (DSP, Payal) Hardeep Singh said according to locals, the man used to live in Khant village of Fatehgarh Sahib with his in-laws. He used to visit his ancestral house in Buyani village frequently. On July 3, he had come to Buyani on a routine visit but no one had seen him after that. “There are no signs of robbery or burglary in the house. Daljit Kaur, the wife of the victim, told the police that they had not kept cash, jewellery or other valuables in the house. He was not carrying any money either,” said the DSP. “It could be a matter of old rivalry. Police are investigating the case from all aspects,” he added. Daljit Kaur was the second wife of Harjinder Singh. He had divorced his first wife. He had no children from both marriages. Buyani village sarpanch Sukhdev Singh said Harjinder Singh owned an agricultural land in the village which he had rented out to someone.
