Two women among three held for murder in Bathinda

BATHINDA : Four days after the body of a a small-time money lender, Hakam Singh, was found on a road near Chak Fateh Singh Wala village, around 23km from district headquarters, on Friday, three persons, including a mother-daughter duo, have been arrested for his murder. The accused, all of the same village, are Ram Singh, Kiranjit Kaur and her mother Sukhpal Kaur.

Bathinda SSP Nanak Singh said Kiranjit planned the murder after Hakam threatened to expose her for taking a loan of ₹11,000 from him after mortgaging an artificial gold chain, claiming it to be made of the genuine metal.

“After Hakam came to know that he had been tricked, he asked for his money back and even threatened her with a police case. An enraged Kiranjit then hatched the murder plan, also involving her daughter and another accused,” the SSP added.

He added Hakam was murdered at his own house by hitting him with an iron rod. “They then wrapped the body on blanket and threw it on the road to give it the appearance of a road accident.” the SSP claimed. The three have been booked for murder at the Nathan police station. The iron pipe and the blanket used in the crime have been recovered. He also drew farmers’ attention to soil depletion caused by excessive fertilisers and pesticide usage and the imminent need to shift organic farming.

PAU vice-chancellor Baldev Singh Dhillon urged farmers to refrain from stubble burning and look for different ways in which the same could be used according to need or to conserve it in the soil.