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Indian man arrested in Australia beach murder sent to 5-day judicial custody
Rajwinder Singh, an Indian-origin nurse working in Queensland at the time, was arrested in Delhi this morning after a long haul and immense coordination between the Australian police forces and Indian law enforcement agencies.
Delhi's Patiala House court on Friday sent Rajwinder Singh – the Indian man accused for the 2018 murder of an Australian woman – to five-day judicial custody till November 30. Singh, an Indian-origin nurse working in Australia at the time, was arrested in Delhi this morning after a four-year-long haul and immense coordination between the Australian police forces and Indian law enforcement agencies.
“We can confirm a man has been arrested in India today following a significant investigation into the tragic death of Toyah Cordingley in Far North Queensland in 2018,” the Queensland Police tweeted earlier today.
“This again demonstrates the importance of partnerships across Australian policing jurisdictions and internationally,” it added.
Here's everything we know about the case so far:
- Rajwinder Singh, originally from Buttar Kalan in Punjab, was living in Innisfail in Queensland at the time of the murder. Toyah, a pharmacist, had gone to walk her dog on Wangetti Beach on October 21, 2018, when she was allegedly attacked and killed. Her body was discovered the next day by her father, half buried in sand. She was 24.
- The Australian police identified Singh as a suspect but found that he had fled from Cairns to Sydney before boarding a plane to India shortly after the incident. Singh reportedly left behind his wife and three children in Australia. The Australian government had sought an extradition order in March 2021 to which Indian officials agreed only last month.
- In November, the Queensland Police and Australia minister Mark Ryan had announced a 1 million Australian dollar ($633,000) bounty for information on the whereabouts of Singh. This was the largest-ever reward announced by the police department.
- Between October 28 and November 8, QPS officers travelled to India in conjunction with the Australian Federal Police (AFP) New Delhi. They built direct communication with the Indian law enforcement agencies for information on Singh in order to arrest him.
- Singh was arrested by Delhi Police Special Cell today with the coordination between the Australian forces and Indian Law Enforcement, a statement said. Speaking on the arrest, Queensland Police Minister Mark Ryan told the press that it had been “a long time coming”.
