NRI shooting case: Cops unearth more financial transactions between US-based suspects, shooters

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, August 28

In the case of the shooting of US-based NRI Sukhchain Singh, the police have found more financial transactions. These were used for payment to the shooters by US-based suspects through their friend here in order to kill Sukhchain.

The shooters — Gurkirat Singh of Butran village (Jalandhar) and Sukhwinder Singh of Dhilwan (Kapurthala) — had received a sum amounting to several lakhs before the incident as more financial transactions have come to light and were being examined by the city police.

8 in police custody

• Till now, eight persons have been arrested. Earlier, the police had arrested Sarvan Singh, father of the victim's first wife; Jagjit Singh and Chamkaur Singh, both residents of Thath village in Tarn Taran who assisted the shooters; hotel owner Digambar Atri and his manager Abhilaksh Bhaskar. They were sent to judicial custody. Sukhwinder Sabi was in police remand for interrogation while two shooters who were injured in the encounter were currently admitted to Guru Nanak Dev Hospital for treatment
• Over 70 cops from city police commissionerate and counter intelligence led by Police Commissioner Ranjit Singh Dhillon, Deputy Commissioner of Police Harpreet Singh Mand and two Additional Deputy Commissioners of Police Vishaljit Singh and Abhimanyu Rana, worked 24X7 for three days to chase down the shooters

Earlier, the police had revealed that the duo had received Rs 85,000 before the crime. According to police, they were hired by the accused for Rs 15 lakh to kill Sukhchain Singh in order to avenge the death of their sister, who had died by suicide in 2022. Sukhchain and his brother, who were among the accused in the case, were acquitted by the court.

Talking to The Tribune, Vishaljit Singh, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police, who was among the officers supervising the probe in the sensational incident, said: “We have strong evidence against the suspects, including Sukhchain Singh’s ex-wife’s brother Sukhwinder Singh, sisters Kuljinder Kaur and Jasvir Singh, all residents of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA. We have found more financial transactions, which are being verified.”

Through his friend Manpreet Singh, US-based Sukhwinder Singh contacted Gurkirat Singh five months ago. Around two months ago, an unknown person had showed Sukhchain’s house to Gurkirat Singh. He also arranged three pistols for Gurkirat for committing the crime. The two shooters and their third accomplice Sukhwinder Sabi of Butran village stayed at various hotels and did the recce of Sukhchain’s movement.

On August 24, they gained entry into the house posing as car agency agents while Sabi stayed outside. After shooting, they went to Khadoor Sahib and parked their bike at a gurdwara parking. They went to Vallah to hide their weapons and then to Hoshiarpur for hiding. They had shorn their beard and hair to dodge police teams, which were on a hunt to nail the shooters.

“When the shooters returned to the hotel after the incident, they had shorn hair,” said an official privy to the investigations. The incident had led to widespread condemnation from all quarters as questions were being raised over the law and order situation in the border state.