Sword-wielding stalker hacks woman to death in Mohali

Piqued by rejection of his marriage proposal, a stalker hacked a 32-year-old woman to death with a sword in broad daylight outside Gurdwara Shri Sahibwara Pathshahi Nauvi in Phase 5 on Saturday morning, police said.

The victim, Baljinder Kaur, 32, worked at a call centre in Phase 5. The sole breadwinner of her family, she had been travelling daily by bus from Fatehpur Jattan in Fatehgarh Sahib district, 35 km from Mohali, to her workplace in Phase 5 for the past four years.

Police said the accused, Sukhchain Singh, 36, works at a petrol station in Ludhiana district’s Samrala town and was taken into custody, but not before he had injured a policeman with the sword.

According to police, the victim and the accused knew each other for the past four years. She had recently rejected his marriage proposal, which spurred him to attack her.

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.

Passers-by help nab accused

A passer-by Maninder Singh, 25, who works as a lab technician, started chasing the accused with two Zomato delivery guys. Later, more people joined them and helped the police catch the accused, who had reached the Phase 4 park by then.

The passers-by and police managed to overpower him, but not before he injured a policeman on the shoulder with the sword. Having been thrashed by passers-by, the accused was admitted to the civil hospital in Phase 6 with injuries.

The victim was declared brought dead. The body was moved to the mortuary for postmortem.

“The woman sustained grievous injuries on the arms and head. She suffered excessive blood loss before reaching hospital and was declared brought dead. The cause of her death will be ascertained after postmortem,” said HS Cheema, senior medical officer, civil hospital, Phase 6, Mohali.

Harbir Singh Atwal, superintendent of police, Mohali city, said, “We received information about the attack around 8.45 am. We identified the accused and took him into custody within two hours. The CCTV footage is self-evident. We have rounded up the accused and the weapon used in the crime, along with his bag, has been recovered.”

Punjab Women Commission chairperson Raj Lali Gill said, “The accused had done something similar around eight months ago. A complaint was registered against him at the Phase 1 police station. Panchayat members of his village had taken responsibility that he will not follow Baljinder. The family demands strong action. I have given my contact number to them.”

On the other hand, 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.

She claimed that both Sukhchain and Baljinder were in a relationship and planned to get married, adding that Baljinder had visited their home twice.

Sole breadwinner was working for better future for younger siblings

As the sole breadwinner of her family, Baljinder always put her parents’ and siblings’ needs above her own, according to her family members.

She belonged to a middle-class farmer family and was known for her hardworking nature and dedication to her loved ones. Along with her parents, she leaves behind a younger brother and sister.

The victim’s grief-stricken family members rushed to the civil hospital in Mohali’s Phase 6 upon receiving the devastating news. They claimed that the accused had been troubling Baljinder. Her father, a heart patient, who recently underwent surgery, was inconsolable.

Baljinder’s uncle spoke of her tireless efforts to uplift her family financially. Just six months ago, she had sent her younger brother to Italy, hoping to secure a better future for him.

“We asked her to get married, but she said ‘let me settle down my younger brother and sister first’,” her uncle recalled.

Despite long working hours at her call centre job and the tedious daily commute between Fatehgarh Sahib and Mohali, Baljinder would handle the household chores and take care of the cattle.

A manager at her call centre said, “She was working with us for the past four years. The incident occurred during busy morning hours and there were quite a lot of people on the road, but no one intervened to stop the accused.”