Murdered US citizen Rupinder Kaur Pandher was Aadhaar cardholder

In a shocking case of betrayal and murder committed over two months ago by a contract killer of Kilaraipur at the behest of a would-be groom of a Indian-origin US citizen, the woman was also a bearer of Aadhaar card, allegedly prepared by the accomplice of the killer, Sukhjeet Singh Sonu, in a clandestine manner.

Prepared on March 3, the Aadhaar card shows the victim’s address as Rupinder Kaur Pandher, c/o Harbhajan Singh Grewal, House No 4465, Shimlapuri, here.

Deceased’s sister Kamaljit Kaur Khairah, a resident of Sugarland Texas in the US, has urged the investigating police to initiate action against the accomplice of Sukhjeet who had allegedly prepared the Aadhaar card of the victim for ulterior motives by misguiding the authorities.

“We fail to understand the reason behind issuance of UID in the name of my sister while all her dealings and documents were based on her US passport number A14166100, showing her permanent address at Seattle, USA,” she said while talking to The Tribune over phone.

Assistant Commissioner Police (ACP) Harjinder Singh Gill said the investigating team, led by Dehlon SHO Sukhjinder Singh, had been advised to probe the rationale behind the issuance of Aadhaar in the name of a US citizen and initiate action against those who allegedly facilitated the same by furnishing wrong information.

The police also initiated a process to verify whether the transfer of money from foreign bank account of Rupinder Kaur to local accounts of Sukhjeet and his brother Manvir Singh were in accordance with the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA).

The woman was allegedly killed by Sukhjeet at the behest of the 75-year-old UK-based NRI from Mehma Singh Wala village.

The police revealed that the victim was lured to Punjab under the pretext of marriage. She had reportedly transferred large sums of money to accounts linked to the suspects. Investigators believe that financial gain was the primary motive behind the brutal killing.

The case came to light only weeks later when Rupinder Kaur’s sister, Kamal Kaur Khairah, reported her missing and alerted the US Embassy in India on July 28, after repeated failed attempts to contact her. The breakthrough came when a friend informed the family of Sukhjeet’s detention by the Dehlon police recently.