Triple murder accused was declared PO in 2009

LUDHIANA: The triple murder accused was declared a proclaimed offender (PO) in a dowry harassment case in 2009. Even as Rajwinder Singh, 43, had been living in Ludhiana from the past two years, the city police PO wing was clueless about it.

Additional deputy commissioner of police (IV) Rajveer Singh Boparai said, “On the complaint of his wife Parvinder Kaur of Killa Mohala, Rajwinder, his father Jaswant Singh, brother Gurdeep Singh and sister Mohinder Kaur were booked for dowry harassment at Division 4 police station in 2002. Rajwinder attended two or three hearings of the case. And after that he and his father left the city. He was declared a PO after he could not be traced. While his brother was given a clean-chit in the case, his sister died of cardiac arrest soon after the FIR was registered.”

Rajwinder had hammered his cousin Gurwinder Kaur, 52, her granddaughter Mandeep Kaur, 8, and grandson Heetak, 6, to death on August 3. Following the triple murder, the police contacted Rajwinder’s former wife. “Parvinder says Rajwinder is a suspicious character and that he and his family harassed her for dowry as he was unemployed.”

Crime Investigation Agency-II in-charge Rajesh Kumar said, “Rajwinder belongs to Ludhiana. He was in a live-in relationship with an Amritsar-based woman 10 years ago and lived in the Holy City. After they got separated, Rajwinder lived at different places on rent. On returning to Ludhiana two years ago, he started living with Gurwinder’s family in Kishor Nagar on Tajpur Road. He had shifted to a nearby rented accommodation about five months ago.”

Gurwinder and her family were unaware that he was a proclaimed offender.

During investigating, the police found that Rajwinder was a cheat, too. “He had duped many people on the pretext of getting made their PAN and Aadhaar cards and helping them secure bank loans. He would charge between Rs 200 and Rs 5,000 per card,” said a cop. The accused has two contact numbers. After procuring their call details, the police questioned people who he had cheated. “From street vendors to factory workers and shopkeepers, there is a long list of people who he duped. He had also taken Rs 10,000 from a neighbour, promising to help him get a bank loan,” the cop added.