US woman killed by in-laws in Kapurthala village ‘for insurance money’

Aparna Banerji

Jalandhar, January 28

A US-based woman, Rajdeep Kaur (32), who hailed from Punjab, was allegedly murdered by her in-laws in a Kapurthala village after being invited to India on the pretext of a relative’s wedding.

Was asked to come to India for a ‘wedding’

• On her husband’s insistence, Rajdeep came to Kapurthala for a relative’s wedding. However, there was no wedding
• DSP Babandeep claimed she was murdered for her hefty insurance cover
• While the post-mortem report stated the death was caused by “asphyxia due to smothering”, her husband said she died of a heart attack
• Another relative said she died due to gas from a room heater

The mother of a five-year-old boy was a US citizen and the police claimed she was murdered for her insurance money. Babandeep Singh, DSP, Sultanpur Lodhi, said, “It is believed the woman was murdered as she had a hefty life insurance coverage.” Her mother-in-law Daljit Kaur and father-in-law Jagdev Singh were arrested by the police this morning. Her husband Manjinder Singh, who is in the US, has been booked.

Rajdeep Kaur was murdered on the intervening night of January 19 and 20 at Nano Mallian village in Kapurthala. She along with their five-year-old son had come to Kapurthala on January 12 on the insistence of her husband. While she had US citizenship, her husband is living illegally in the US and is trying to get a green card.

The police said the cause of death in the post-mortem examination report which arrived yesterday was “asphyxia due to smothering”.

For two days, her in-laws kept the body in a freezer at Sidhwa Dona village and informed the Sultanpur Lodhi police. The police took the body for post-mortem examination on January 23.

Meanwhile, Rajdeep’s UK-based parents received information via telephone regarding their daughter’s death. Fearing Rajdeep had been murdered, her mother Nirmal Kaur came to India and complained to the Sultanpur Lodhi police on January 25.

Relatives of Rajdeep protested at Sultanpur Lodhi police station on January 27 after which an FIR was registered.

Nirmal Kaur (who hails from Bilga in Jalandhar) said, “Rajdeep was constantly tortured by her husband. He wanted her to name all her property in his name so that he could get a green card. My daughter was called to India on the basis of a lie about a wedding. It was a plan to kill her. Her husband Manjinder told us she died of a heart attack. Another relative said she died due to gas from a room heater.”

SHO Lakhwinder Singh said, “Rajdeep was invited to Kapurthala on the pretext of the wedding of the son of Manjinder’s aunt. But there was no wedding.” DSP Babandeep Singh said, “The woman died due to asphyxia, establishing that she was murdered. The FIR was lodged against the in-laws and husband the very day (Saturday) the post-mortem examination report came.”