PILIBHIT: A retired sub-inspector of Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and his wife have been booked for allegedly killing a 28-year-old man over suspicion that he was having an affair with their daughter, police said on Saturday.Sukhdev Singh, the 28-year-old, was a resident of Tonadrpur village in Neuria area and had been involved in running an International English Language Testing System (IELTS) coaching centre from the premises of the accused couple — Puran Singh (62), a resident of Narayanpur village in Pilibhit’s Puranpur area, and his wife, Gurmeet Kaur.
Police said the case was registered on the complaint of the victim’s father, Harjinder Singh, a farmer, who alleged that Puran Singh suspected Sukhdev of having an illicit relationship with his daughter, which led to the killing. The daughter had recently left for Australia on a student visa on Dec 15.According to the complaint, Sukhdev had shut down his IELTS centre over a year ago. As Puran Singh and his wife did not have a son, they treated Sukhdev like a family member. On Saturday morning, Sukhdev reportedly received a phone call from Puran Singh and left home without disclosing the reason. Around 9.30 am, the family was informed that he had been shot dead. Harjinder Singh rushed to the spot and found his son’s body inside Puran Singh’s house.SHO Pawan Pandey said that “Puran Singh’s licensed pistol was used in the incident.” “The bullet pierced Sukhdev’s chest and exited, hitting a sofa in the room. Gurmeet Kaur also sustained a bullet injury to her shoulder and was admitted to a govt medical facility,” the SHO added. Meanwhile, Gurmeet Kaur gave a different account to the police, claiming that Sukhdev had taken Rs 50 lakh from her husband in instalments on the pretext of investing in a business and was avoiding repayment. She alleged that a dispute broke out over the money when Sukhdev visited their house on Saturday morning, during which he allegedly shot her with a pistol before turning the weapon on himself.Police said a forensic team collected evidence from the spot, and the bullet that injured Gurmeet Kaur would be sent for forensic examination to determine the weapon used. Based on the complaint filed by the victim’s father, a case has been registered against Puran Singh and his wife under BNS Section 103(1) (murder).
