DSP case verdict: No probe into trio’s earlier crimes

Mohit Khanna

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, September 9

The three accused — Pritpal Singh, Harwinder Singh and Umesh Karda — for the murder of Moga DSP Balraj Singh Gill and Monika Kapila had, at the time of arrest (April 2012), confessed to committing over one dozen incidents of snatching and physically abuse. But no probe has, so far, been conducted by the police into these incidents.

It is learnt that the accused trio had formed a gang along with an accomplice, Hassanjit, in May 2011 and used to lay a trap for young couples visiting the Golf Link area in the evenings.

While one of the accused, equipped with sharp-edged weapons, reportedly used to rob the man, the other accomplices used to physically abuse the woman, said police sources.

Fearing social embarrassment, the victims never reported the matter to the police.

What happened that day

On February 1, Umesh Karda reportedly saw Balraj Singh Gill and Monika visiting the farmhouse owned by Sanjay Agnihotri in their cars.

Umesh informed his accomplices, including Pritpal and Harwinder. Sources said that they laid a trap outside the house. When Gill and Monika came out, the assailants attacked them with sharp-edged weapons and dragged them inside. Balraj had suffered injuries and was profusely bleeding. They made him sit on a sofa.

Then, one of the accused gave a fatal blow on his head. To ensure that he did not survive, the accused slit his neck.

Sources said the accused then tried to rape Monica. When she resisted, they smashed her head against the wall and killed her.

Then, they fled the spot with the victims’ vehicles. They assembled at Noorpur Bet where they switched off the mobile phones so that police could not trace their location.

The recovery of the victims’ cars and the broken number plates, ring and watch belonging to Gill proved to be the undoing of the trio. The mobile locations of the trio also proved their involvement in the crime.

The recoveries were made in presence of an Executive Magistrate and were videographed to make the case a watertight one.