Hindustan Times (Bathinda)

Kapurthala NRI sets wife, 2 kids ablaze before committing suicide

Kulwinder who came to Kapurthala from Jordan on Wednesday, set himself, his wife, son and daughter, ablaze after he came to know about her ‘illicit relationsh­ip’

- HT Correspond­ent letterschd@htlive.com

KAPURTHALA : Upset over his wife’s alleged extramarit­al relation, an NRI burned himself, his wife and their two children alive at their house in Punjab, police said on Thursday.

Kulwinder Singh, 35, who was living in Jordan, was angry after coming across a sleazy video of his wife, they said.

He came to his native village Kalasingia last night and poured petrol on himself, his wife and their two minor children and set everyone on fire, they said.

Singh, along with his two children Abhi, 5, and Sonal, 8, died on the spot while his wife received more than 80 per cent burn injuries.

She was rushed to a hospital where she died, they said.

Police have registered a criminal case against four people belonging to the same village for making the video around three months ago.

The accused blackmaile­d the woman and later sent the video to her husband.

They were identified as Balkar Singh, Gurpreet Singh alias Sunny, Satya Devi and Tirath Singh

KAPURTHALA : A 35-year-old nonresiden­t Indian (NRI), who landed here from Jordan on Wednesday night, set himself, his wife and two minor children ablaze at Alamgir village in the district on Thursday, resulting in the death of all four.

Police said Kulwinder Singh committed the crime at around 4 am after he allegedly came to know about an illicit relationsh­ip of his wife Mandeep Kaur, 30, with a villager.

Kulwinder and his son Abhi, 5, died on the spot while daughter Sonal, 8, succumbed to her injuries in Kapurthala civil hospital. Mandeep was referred to the Jalandhar civil hospital where she died after making a statement to the police.

Police said Mandeep told them that a villager had started

blackmaili­ng her for sexual favours after he had filmed her obscene video, which he had also shared with his two friends.

“When I talked to my husband about this, he got furious. Later, when we were sleeping he poured kerosene on us and set us on fire,” she told the police.

Kulwinder’s sister Jaswinder Kaur, who was sleeping in the adjoining room, came to know about the incident after hearing the screams of the victims and raised alarm. “She also sustained minor burn injuries and was discharged after the first aid,” MS Bawa, medical superinten­dent,

Jalandhar civil hospital, said.

Superinten­dent of police (SP) Jagjit Singh Saroya said Kulwinder had been living in Jordan for some years and returned to his village on Wednesday night. “He came to know about his wife’s affair when she told him that a man was threatenin­g to post her obscene video on social media and demanding sexual favours,” the SP said.

Deputy superinten­dent of police (DSP) Sarabjit Singh said on the basis of the woman’s statement, a case has been registered against four persons belonging to the same village under Sections 306 (abetment of suicide) and 34 of IPC. He said the accused have been identified as Gurpreet Singh alias Sunny, his mother Satya Devi, two friends Balkar Singh and Tirath Singh.

The DSP said Sunny and Balkar have been arrested while efforts are on to arrest the other two accused. He said Gurpreet had reportedly made the obscene video of the woman that he shared with his friends, and they later started blackmaili­ng her. Satya also blackmaile­d the woman, he added.

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