Sukhbir Badal’s bizman cousin Narottam Dhillon found murdered at his Goa villa, 2 held

Tribune News Service

Archit Watts

Muktsar, February 5

Narottam Singh Dhillon, alias Nims (77), a nephew of the late CM Parkash Singh Badal and cousin of SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal, who was allegedly robbed and murdered under mysterious circumstances at his villa at Pillerne-Marra village in North Goa on Sunday morning, was a native of Badal village here. His caretaker saw the body on Sunday morning and informed the police.

The deceased once owned a Ferrari car dealership in the US. He was at present into the business of hospitality, real estate and renting out luxury villas and cars in India. Sources close to Nims, who had visited him in Goa, said he was fond of living a life of luxury and loved to host guests at his properties.

A case of murder has been registered at the Porvorim police station in this regard. “A boy and his girlfriend, both residents of Madhya Pradesh, have been arrested in this regard. They seem to have entered the villa as guests of the deceased. A “kada”, a gold chain, a car and some other belongings of the deceased were found missing from there.

The post-mortem has been done and the body handed over to the family. Investigations are on,” said Inspector Rahu Parab, in-charge of the Porvorim police station.

Meanwhile, Pawanpreet Singh Badal, alias Bobby, a cousin of the deceased, said, “Nims once owned a Ferrari car showroom in the US. Before this, he was settled in Canada. For the past few years, he was staying mostly in Goa. His wife and son live in Delhi. His daughter is married abroad. His son had gone to Goa to complete the legal formalities and get the body.”

He said, “We are not aware if he had enmity with anyone. His main businesses were in Goa, Delhi and Shimla. Besides, he owned agricultural land and a house at Badal village here. The police have arrested a young boy and a girl, possibly a couple, in Maharashtra, who reportedly stayed at his villa in Goa on the night of his murder and tried to run away in his rented car. The GPS of the car helped the police nab them. Nims seemed to have been smothered.”

Major Bhupinder Singh Dhillon, who has served as political secretary to former CM Parkash Singh Badal and is one of the oldest members in the Badal clan, said, “Narottam owned several properties. The entire family is shocked over his murder.”

Sukhdev Singh, a former sarpanch of Badal village, said, “Narottam rarely visited the village in the recent past. His brother Joginder Singh, who is known as Numberdar, lives here.”

Sources said Nims was arrested from an apartment in Shimla in 2003 by the Punjab Vigilance Bureau. He used to look after the Badal family’s business in the US and was accused of taking their wealth abroad through hawala. He was later discharged by a court.

The Lambi police had at that time registered a case against him for allegedly using counterfeit currency, dealing in narcotics and under sections of the Explosives Act, Arms Act and Foreign Exchange Management Act, but no recovery was made from him.

In the 1990s, he was accused of cheating the US government by evading tax on the sale and purchase of luxury Ferrari cars, which he had once termed a false case.

‘Kada’, gold chain, car missing

• A native of Badal village in Muktsar, he was allegedly robbed and murdered at his villa at Pillerne-Marra village in North Goa on Sunday morning; his caretaker saw body on Sunday morning
• A boy and his girlfriend, both residents of Madhya Pradesh, have been arrested in connection with the murder; they seem to have entered the villa as his guests
• A “kada”, a gold chain, a car and some other belongings of the deceased were reportedly found missing from the villa; the police said investigations were underway

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