Four months on, only one of four suspects arrested for elderly US woman’s murder

Four months after a septuagenarian US citizen Rupinder Kaur Pandher was murdered at Kila Raipur, the police have managed to arrest only one out of the four suspects booked in the case so far.

The police are yet to get the partial remains of the deceased, recovered from a drain, matched for DNA with either of her kin settled in the United States.

The deceased’s sister Kamaldeep Kaur Khairah is hesitant to visit India without assurance of security and the police are finding it a tedious and less reliable job to arrange for the procedure in the US.

Upset over the alleged sluggish pace of investigation and apathy by the police, Kamaldeep has once again sought the intervention of Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann and DGP Gaurav Yadav in expediting the process for the arrest of the suspects already booked.

She further rued that the police had failed to recover her sister’s belongings, including jewelry, documents and other valuables.

“How can I dare come to Punjab where my sister was killed in the most inhumane manner,” Kamaldeep said, lamenting that the cops were not ready to give her security.

Investigating Officer and Dehlon SHO Harpreet Singh said separate teams of cops had been raiding probable hideouts of all the absconding accused.

Singh claimed that Sukhjeet Singh Sonu was arrested on September 12 and a look out circular was issued in connection with the prime conspirator Charanjit Singh of Mehma Singh Wala who is known to be residing in the UK. Manvir Singh of Kila Raipur and Danish of Chandigarh were booked during investigations on the basis of information provided by Sonu.

The SHO added that Danish had received approximately Rs 10 lakh for managing immunity for the accused as he apparently maintained close relations with senior police functionaries.

Observations by the Tribune revealed that Rupy had been visiting India after her father’s death in connection with management of his immovable property at Agar Nagar, Ludhiana; Chandigarh and Rauni in Khanna subdivision. It was during her intimate relationship with a man of Kila Raipur that a part of , which was supposed to be inherited by all the legal successors of the deceased, was deceptively grabbed.

Kamaldeep alleged that the accused had exploited Rupy’s helplessness by luring her to Kila Raipur and then eliminating her as all the accused were of the view that none of her siblings would pursue her case.

According to Kamaldeep, Rupy had four other siblings and one of the brothers had died in 2008. One brother and a sister are confined to bed due to illness, leaving only her able to press for justice.

Pandher was allegedly killed by Sukhjeet Singh Sonu at the behest of Charanjit Singh, with whom the deceased had dreamt of tying the nuptial knot during her ill-fated visit.