Mohali: Stalker who hacked woman to death booked for murder bid on cop
The accused, Sukhchain Singh, 36, who works at a petrol station in Ludhiana district’s Samrala town, had injured a police constable Sarabjit Singh with the sword before he was taken into custody
The stalker, who had hacked a 32-year-old woman to death with a sword in broad daylight in Phase 5 on Saturday morning, has also been booked for trying to kill a cop who was chasing him after the brutal murder.
The accused, Sukhchain Singh, 36, who works at a petrol station in Ludhiana district’s Samrala town, had injured a police constable Sarabjit Singh with the sword before he was taken into custody.
Consequently, he was booked under Sections 307 (attempt to murder), 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of duty) and 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) at the Phase-1 police station.
Victim, accused met amid the Covid pandemic in 2020
Meanwhile, police investigation has revealed that the accused, Sukhchain Singh, and the victim, Baljinder Kaur, first met during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. After Covid restrictions were lifted, the couple used to travel in the same bus to their respective jobs and forged a relationship.
However, according to police officials familiar with the probe, the victim’s family was strongly against their relationship.
In December last year, Baljinder ended the four-year relationship with the accused after a monetary dispute.
“They both had an ugly spat, following which the victim called off the relationship. Since Sukhchain continued to contact her, she changed her phone number. Their families were called by the Phase 1 police six months back, where the accused promised not to follow her anymore. But feeling betrayed and frustrated, he eventually decided to kill her,” an investigator said.
On Sunday, police handed over the victim’s body to her family post autopsy at the civil hospital in Phase 6, Mohali.
Police said though the autopsy report was awaited, she died due to multiple injuries on the head, neck, arms and hands that led to severe blood loss.
The accused, meanwhile, is undergoing treatment at the civil hospital after he was thrashed by passers-by on Saturday. He will be arrested on Monday after being discharged from hospital, said police.
Sukhchain’s mother said he was a kabaddi player, but had not been playing due to a ligament injury. She said he had quit his job on June 1 and left home empty-handed around 6 am on Saturday.
The sole breadwinner of her family, Baljinder had been travelling daily by bus from Fatehpur Jattan in Fatehgarh Sahib district, 35 km from Mohali, to her call centre job in Phase 5 for the past four years.
CCTV footage of the incident showed Baljinder crossing the road with her two friends while on the way to their workplace around 8.30 am, when Sukhchain, who was lying in wait under a tree on the roadside, pulled out a sword from his backpack and attacked her.
Baljinder ran towards the main road to save herself, but fell after a vehicle hit her. Sukhchain proceeded to hack her with the sword multiple times, killing her on the spot.
After committing the crime, Sukhchain walked for several metres, displaying the blood-stained sword, leaving pedestrians and passers-by shocked.
He was later nabbed by cops with the help of passers-by.
