Army Havildar, family charged with killing wife and 3 children

Hoshiarpur, Oct 12 (UNI) The local police today claimed to have solved, the murder of a woman and her three children charging her husband, an army havildar and his family with the brutal homicide, which took place on the night of October 7.

Hoshiarpur SSP R N Dhoke told mediapersons that dead bodies of a woman and her three children, bearing deep cuts, were found in the Mukerian Hydel Channel on the evening of October 8.

These were identified as Jaswinder Kaur, wife of Vir Singh of village Bhagran, her daughters, Kamalpreet Kaur (9) and Anterpreet Kaur (2) and son Simranjit Singh (7).

On the complaint of Mr Jagir Singh of village Dugri, father of deceased Jaswinder Kaur, an FIR under sections 302, 201 and 120 B of the IPC was been registered in Mukerian Police Station and after sustained investigations, police found that the victim's husband and his relatives were behind the crime, Mr Dhoke said.

The police have arrested eight persons including Balbir Singh, son of Mehnga Singh, his mother Mohinder Kaur, his brother-in-law Lakhwinder Singh and wife Gurdeep Kaur of Chhanniya, his sisters, Pritam Kaur and her husband Harjinder Singh of Pandori Arayian and Sukhwant Kaur of Rachhpalman and Guru Singh, Mr Dhoke said.

He said that his one more brother Daljodh Singh and his sister Bhajan Kaur were still at large while the arrest warrant of Vir Singh had been obtained and shortly, he would also be arrested.

Jaswinder Kaur, who had strained relationship with her husband, was sleeping in her single room house along with her three children on October 7 night when Balbir Singh allegely scaled the wall and killed all four of them with sharp-edged weapon, The SSP said.

Balbir was helped by his relatives Daljodh Singh and Guru Singh in disposing of the dead bodies in the nearby Mukerian Hydel channel in the midnight, Mr Dhoke said.

The SSP said that according to the statement of Mr Jagir Singh, his daughter was married to Vir Singh son of Mehnga Singh of village Bhagran in 1994. After the marriage of his daughter, her in-laws tortured her and forced her to live separately in the matrimonial house. Her expenditure was met by the compensation fixed by the army and monetary support provided by her parents.

More than one acrimonious suits between the couple were pending in courts and Jaswinder Kaur had moved a fresh application on December 12, 2005, in the court of JMIC, Dasuya for a sum of Rs 6000 as maintenance.

According to the SSP, Vir Singh had availed leave in the last week of September and had planned the murder along with his family during that period. He had also promised Rs 50,000 each to all the three main accused, Mr Dhoke added.

UNI XC JN VD KP1652