4 members of family held for minor girl’s kidnapping, murder

Amritsar, July 14

The police have arrested four persons, including two women, in connection with the kidnapping and killing of Sukhmandeep Kaur (9), who went missing under mysterious circumstances on Tuesday. Her body was found dumped at a vacant haveli (cattle compound) just a few metres away from the house on Thursday.

All accused belonged to a family and it has been learnt that they committed the crime under the influence of black magic. The girl had injury marks on her head and other parts of the body. The police said the matter was still under investigation regarding the exact motive behind the murder and it would be inappropriate to comment anything at this moment, said Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police Abhimanyu Rana.

The police handed over the body to the victim’s family after a postmortem.

Those arrested were identified as Talbir Singh, his wife Jasbir Kaur, their son Suraj and his wife Pawandeep Kaur. They were produced in a court that remanded them in police custody.

Pall of gloom descended Mudhal village falling under the Verka police station yesterday after Sukhmandeep Kaur was found murdered. She went missing on Tuesday while playing outside her house.

The victim’s father, Gurpreet Singh, who works as a driver, had gone to Jammu while her mother Palwinder Kaur, who works as a domestic help, was not at home. Three children were present in the house. Gurpreet told the police that Palwinder returned home around 4pm and asked her son Mohit about Sukhmandeep. He said she was playing in the street outside the house. When Sukhmandeep did not return after two hours, she started looking for her. Gurpreet returned home in the evening. He said the family searched for her and also informed the police about her disappearance.