It was planned, cold-blooded murder of 3 persons: Court

BATHINDA: Muktsar district and sessions judge Arunvir Vashista relied on strong circumstantial evidences to pronounce death sentence on Palwinder Singh for drowning his family, including two kids, and his lover’s husband in 2015. The judgement was pronounced on Thursday but the detailed order was awaited.

In his 52- page judgment, a copy of which is with HT, Vashista said the crime was a “planned cold-blooded murder of three unprotected persons that included one woman, two tender age children… It was a rare incident, which is further made rarest because of brutality with which the killings were carried out.”

On June 20, 2015, Palwinder’s car drowned in the Gang canal near Fattanwala village, in which his wife Sarabjit Kaur, daughter Gaganpreet Kaur, son Jashanpreet Singh and his lover Karamjit’s husband Nirmal Singh died. Karamjit was award life imprisonment for being party to hatch the ghastly crime.

The court stated “four coincidences” in concluding that drowning incident was a planned murder. “All persons who may be considered hurdles in an illegitimate relationship ( between Palwinder and Karamjit) were travelling in one car. As it fell into the canal, all drowned except Palwinder,” the judgment read.

Purchase of life insurance policy by Palwinder for his wife and another insurance policy in the name of Nirmal with specific riders of death in accidents attracted the court’s attention for drawing conclusion about the murder. The court also pointed at Palwinder getting married with Karamjit, widow of his farm labourer, that suggested that the couple had connived to design a crime.

Another key and clinching circumstantial evidence that the court took note was that Palwinder came out safe of the vehicle. It raised a question that if he (as per Palwinder’s statement) could come out of the drowning car from the window, why he did not try to rescue any of his family members.