Indian-origin U.S. woman killed in Punjab at behest of NRI man she planned to marry

A 71-year-old U.S. citizen of Indian origin was bludgeoned to death with a baseball bat and her body burnt before being dumped in a drain in Ludhiana allegedly at the behest of a U.K.-based Non-Resident Indian (NRI) man whom she was to marry, a police investigation has revealed.

The victim, Rupinder Kaur Pandher, came to India from Seattle at the invitation of Charanjit Singh Grewal, an England-based NRI originally from Ludhiana, who was to be her bridegroom but later refused to marry her. She was killed in July, police said.

A police official said some of the woman’s skeletal remains have been recovered from the drain.

Police have arrested Sukhjeet Singh, a typist in the Ludhiana court and a resident of Kila Raipur in Ludhiana Patti, for killing the woman.

The incident came to light after Ludhiana police named suspects in an FIR pertaining to Pandher’s disappearance. The FIR was lodged by Mr. Singh in August to avoid suspicion. He told police that Pandher had left for the Delhi airport to visit Canada to attend a wedding, police said.

Meanwhile, Pandher’s sister, Kamal Kaur Khairah, grew suspicious when she found her mobile phone switched off on July 24. Ms. Khairah alerted the U.S. embassy in New Delhi, which in turn pressed the local police to take up the matter.

Pandher and Mr. Grewal came into contact with each other on a matrimonial website and started dating, police said.

Pandher, who was earlier married twice, had been declared a proclaimed offender in a property dispute case with her relatives and Mr. Grewal asked Mr. Singh to help her. Pandher had even transferred her power of attorney to Mr. Singh and was living in his house, they said.

Mr. Grewal did not want to marry Pandher and asked Mr. Singh to eliminate her. The NRI promised to pay ₹50 lakh to Mr. Singh for killing the woman and that he would help him move abroad after the crime, police said.

On July 12, Mr. Singh allegedly hit Pandher with a baseball bat, which led to her death. He then set the body on fire using coal, packed her remains in gunny bags and dumped them in a drain, they said.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Rupinder Singh said police have recovered some of the victim’s remains.

Pandher’s damaged mobile phone has also been recovered. The accused damaged her iPhone using a hammer, which has also been recovered, the officer said.

According to police, Mr. Singh later got his house painted to destroy evidence.

Mr. Singh has confessed to killing Pandher in his house. Mr. Grewal, who is abroad, has also been booked in the case, police said.