Kin identify body, autopsy conducted

Nikhil Bhardwaj

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Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, June 2

A day after a body, suspected to be that of British-Indian hotelier Ranjit Singh Power, was recovered from a canal near Ambala, the victim’s family today allowed the Jalandhar Police to go ahead with the inquest proceedings on the basis of identification done by a victim’s friend in India.

The family could not make it to Jalandhar to identify the body.

A panel of four doctors conducted the postmortem examination, which was videographed, at the Civil Hospital today amid tight security. The doctors reportedly found strangulation marks on the body.

Deputy Commissioner of Police Rajinder Singh said victim’s friend Darshan had sent the photographs of the body to victim’s son Gian Power and daughter Emma Laura Power in UK for identification and the two confirmed it was their father’s body.

“Darshan, an old friend of victim, got clue from the  ‘karra’ (bracelet) Ranjit was wearing, which was purchased by his mother from Hemkunt Sahib. His brother Amrik also wears the same bracelet. Amrik, who was here, had left for UK on Saturday,” the DCP said.

Sources said the police would now go for DNA testing for which samples of hair, teeth and bone had been preserved. To strengthen the case in court against the accused — NRI Baldev Singh Deol and his nephew Sukhdev — the police could match DNA samples of victim with those of his children living in the UK.

The NRI’s body was recovered near a dam situated on the Pehewa-Ambala road, 20 km from the Ambala city on Monday, as the Jalandhar police teams searched for the body there.

Ranjit was received by his friend Deol on May 8 at the Amritsar airport. While on the way home, Deol along with Sukhdev strangulated him and threw the body in the Bhakhra canal near Anandpur Sahib.

On May 15, Deol flew back to the UK. On May 18, a case of kidnapping was registered against Deol by the Jalandhar police. On May 30, the police arrested Sukhdev. Sources said the victim’s family in the UK was deliberating on whether to take the body to the UK for cremation or not.