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69-yr-old NRI bride to-be killed by assasins hired by 67-yr-old fiancee
Charanjit Singh Grewal, a British citizen, allegedly orchestrated the murder of US-based NRI Rupinder Kaur Pandher over a failed marriage promise.
Charanjit Singh Grewal, 67, an Indian origin British citizen, has been booked for allegedly orchestrating the murder of a 69-year-old US-based NRI, Rupinder Kaur Pandher, after luring her to visit Punjab from Seattle on the pretext of marriage in July, a senior police officer said on Wednesday.
According to the police, the main accused, Sukhjeet Singh, a resident of Kila Raipur village, has confessed to killing Kaur at his home on July 12 at the behest of Charanjit.
“Sukhjeet brutally bludgeoned Rupinder with a baseball bat, killing her in cold blood at his home in Kila Raipur village on July 12,” deputy commissioner of police (DCP), Ludhiana (city), Rupinder Singh confirmed, adding that Charanjit had roped in the man accused to kill the woman as he was unwilling to marry her.
“After committing the murder, Sukhjeet burnt her body in a storeroom, stuffed the charred remains in four gunny bags, and dumped them in the drain at Ghungrana village,” the DCP said.
Partial skeletal remains believed to be of the woman were recovered from the drain, close to Jalandhar, on Wednesday and sent for forensic test. Police said they have also recovered the victim’s iPhone, which was damaged and discarded to destroy the evidence.
Charanjit and Kaur got acquainted through a matrimonial website sometime around June-July last year, police said, citing the woman’s family. Police suspect that Charanjit, who is already married, got Kaur killed as he did not want to marry her despite promising her.
According to the police, Charanjit, who had known Sukhjeet since 2014, had requested the latter to help Kaur in a property dispute case she was fighting against her sister Kamaljit Khaizah, also a US citizen, in a Jalandhar court. Sukhjeet worked as a typist in the court complex.
During the case hearings, Kaur used to stay at Sukhjeet’s house. She later transferred her power of attorney to fight the court cases to Sukhjeet and had also transferred substantial sums of money, estimated to be around ₹30-35 lakh, to both Sukhjeet and Charanjit.
As Kaur insisted Charanjit get married, the latter began avoiding her and instead conspired to get rid of her, inspector Sukhjinder Singh of Dehlon police station said.
Charanjit lured Kaur into visiting India on the pretext of marrying her. He sought Sukhjeet’s help to eliminate her, promising to pay him ₹50 lakh. Police said the accused has said that he was not paid the money.
To cover his trail, Sukhjeet himself filed a missing person’s complaint with the police on July 18, claiming that Kaur had left for Delhi airport to travel to Canada to attend a wedding. He alleged that she had been unreachable ever since.
The DCP confirmed that Charanjit remains in the UK and has been named as a suspect in the FIR, which includes charges under sections 103 (murder) and 61(2) (criminal conspiracy) of the BNS. Sukhjeet is currently in police custody.
Kamaljit Khaizah, the victim’s sister, told HT: “My sister was promised marriage and a better life but ended up being murdered in the most inhumane way.”
She added that she also contacted the US Embassy in India after her sister went missing mysteriously following her visit to India. The embassy then took up the matter with the Punjab police, she said, claiming that Kaur was declared a proclaimed offender by the court in the property dispute.
