UK woman killed husband to usurp property: Police
A Dartfort Kent (UK) resident, Kuljinder, allegedly strangled her husband to death in a Hoshiarpur village in 2015 with the intention to usurp his property
CHANDIGARH: United Kingdom (UK) resident Kuljinder Kaur Thandi, for whose extradition the Punjab government gave its go ahead recently, is wanted for the killing her NRI husband in Hoshiarpur district in 2015, a crime she allegedly committed to usurp his property worth crores of rupees.
This is the second instance in the recent past when the extradition of a woman NRI from Punjab is being sought in connection with a murder case. In January this year, Canada-based Malkit Kaur and her brother Surjit Singh Badesha were extradited for their alleged role in the killing of Jaswinder Sidhu alias Jassi (Malkit Kaur’s daughter) 18 years ago.
A native of village Thinda in Hoshiarpur district, Kuljinder, who lives in Street Heather Drive City in Dartfort Kent (UK), is accused of strangling her affluent NRI husband Rajpal Singh (67) with the help of her father Amrik Singh and friend Satinder Singh alias Vipin, a police constable from Bangalipur village. An FIR with regard to the Rajpal’s murder was registered at the Mehtiana police station on March 2, 2015. As per the FIR registered on the statement of deceased’s sister-in-law Paramjit Kaur, a resident of Lodge Lane in Grays (UK), Rajpal married Thandi in 2004 after the death of his first wife. Thandi was almost half his age and their relationship was not cordial even as they had two children. On December 11, 2015, she reached India with her kids to attend the marriage of her brother scheduled for December 30. Rajpal joined the family on December 19.
On December 26, Rajpal was found dead at his native Thinda village where he was staying with Kuljinder. The police challan filed in the case states that Rajpal died of ‘suffocation’, accusing Thandi, her father and friend of smothering him to death using a pillow. Next day, Thandi reportedly stated that Rajpal died of cardiac arrest and performed his cremation in a hurried manner without informing any of the their relatives and the villagers. Even the ‘antim ardas’ was performed without the knowledge of relatives living nearby, and those in Canada and UK, says the police investigation.
The probe carried out by subinspector Gurkirpal Singh revealed that just two days before the NRI’s death, Thandi had got Rajpal’s all moveable and immovable assets transferred to her name using a will registered in Mahilpur tehsil. A sum of ₹80 lakh from the deceased’s account was also transferred to a newly opened joint account, the probe found. And two days after Rajpal’s death, Kuljinder opened another joint bank account with her friend and transferred ₹40 lakh to it and left for the UK on December 30 — the day her brother was to get married. In the UK, Kuljinder took over the departmental stores her husband owned.
Kuljinder and her two accomplices were booked under sections 302 (murder), 201 (causing disappearance of evidence), 404 (dishonest misappropriation of property possessed by deceased), 406 (criminal breach of trust), 420 (fraud), 120-B (criminal conspiracy to kill someone) of the IPC after two-month-long probe by the police. While Thandi’s father and friend were arrested, she was declared a proclaimed offender (PO) on June 2, 2016, following which extradition proceedings started. On October 24, Punjab cabinet also gave the necessary go-ahead to bring Kuljinder to face law.
Interestingly, in April this year, the court of additional district and sessions judge Gurjant Singh, acquitted Thandi’s father and friend, leading to their release from the jail.
Deceased’s Hoshiarpur-based lawyer, MP Singh, said they have challenged the acquittal in the Punjab and Haryana high court. “Even in the judgment of the acquittal of the two accused, it is clearly written that Kuljinder needs to be probed. We have fought a long battle for her extradition,” said Singh.
THIS IS THE SECOND INSTANCE IN THE RECENT PAST WHEN THE EXTRADITION OF A WOMAN NRI FROM PUNJAB IS BEING SOUGHT IN CONNECTION WITH A MURDER CASE