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American woman killed in Punjab over insurance money
American Sikh woman Rajdeep Kaur was invited to Punjab on the pretext of a wedding.
Representative Image / Unsplash
A Sikh American woman, who flew to Punjab to attend a relative’s wedding, was found murdered in the Kapurthala village of the state.
After investigation, the local police alleged that Rajdeep Kaur (32) was killed for her insurance money. A First Information Report (FIR) has been lodged against her husband and father-in-law in the matter.
Rajdeep was called to the village in Punjab by the kin of her husband on the pretext of a family wedding. Her husband, Manjinder Singh, who had been allegedly living illegally in the US, insisted she travel to Punjab on his behalf while he stayed back. Rajdeep is survived by her five-year-old son, who accompanied her to India.
Local police arrested Manjinder’s parents – mother Daljit Kaur and father Jagdev Singh – on January 27. This came after a postmortem report confirmed Rajdeep died of suffocation, suggesting murder.
According to the postmortem report, Rajdeep was killed on the intervening night of January 19 and 20. Her body was stored in a freezer at the Sidhwan Dona village for two days, after which her in-laws alerted the Sultanpur Lodhi police on January 23.
Manjinder’s family told police that Rajdeep died due to a heart attack. After the post mortem, authorities apprised the victim's parents in the UK of her death. Suspecting foul play, her mother Nirmal Kaur flew down to Punjab on January 25, and filed a police report with the Sultanpur Lodhi police department.
Victim tortured by husband over finances
In the police report, Nirmal revealed Manjinder had tortured her daughter over money while she was alive.
“Rajdeep was constantly tortured by her husband. He wanted her to transfer all her assets in his name so that he could get a green card,” she told the police.
“My daughter was falsely invited to India on the pretext of marriage,” she added. This was corroborated by a police official who confirmed no wedding had taken place in the village.
“Her husband Manjinder told us that she died of a heart attack. Another relative said that she died due to gas from the room heater,” Nirmal further alleged.
In a statement, police official Babandeep Singh said a hefty sum of money is the root of the murder. "It is believed that the woman was murdered because she had a large life insurance coverage," he said.
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