Ludhiana-based industrialist hired contract killer for ₹15 lakh to murder wife’s paramour

Police have booked Balwinder of New Aman Nagar in Ludhiana, an industrialist, and arrested two more men for the murder of an architect Mandeep Singh, 30, in Dugri Phase 1, on Thursday morning.

Balwinder suspected Mandeep and his wife of having an affair for two years and is accused of hiring Gurwinder, 25, of New Aman Nagar, as a contract killer. Gurwinder, a computer diploma holder, was promised ₹15 lakh for the killing. He was to get married on October 14 (Sunday) and had been doing a recce of the victim’s house for six months. The weapon and the stolen motorcycle used in the crime have been recovered.

Police commissioner Sukhchain Singh Gill told reporters that Gurwinder was arrested from the Dugri area. Another accused, Aman Pal, who Balwinder, had hired for keeping a tab on Gurwinder, has also been arrested. “Aman was present near the spot, where Mandeep was shot dead. After the crime, Balwinder met Aman Pal near the Canal Bridge. He was handed over shells of six bullets, as proof that Gurwinder had gunned down the architect,” the commissioner said.

He added, “The motorcycle was stolen from Gurdwara Manji Sahib in Alamgir village on October 25. Gurwinder is seen in the CCTV footage. On Thursday too, he is seen in the footage, wearing the same clothes as he did on October 25,” the commissioner added.

“The accused pumped in six bullets in the back of Mandeep Singh from point-blank range on Friday, when the victim was present in an under-construction house in Dugri, Phase-1. He had parked the motorcycle near the Dugri Canal Bridge and hired a three-wheeler after crossing the bridge on foot,” he added. Police have registered a case under section 302 (murder) of the IPC against the three accused.

Stolen revolver used in crime

The police added that Gurwinder had stolen the revolver used in the crime from the house a local realtor, Jaspal Bangar. He had access as his mother worked there as a maid. For the past some time, he had been taking the licenced revolver from this house, unnoticed, and was using it to practice by firing at dummies. On Thursday too, he used this revolver and had even put it back.

For the crime, Balwinder and Gurwinder had bought bullets from a Ferozepur resident. After the crime, Gurwinder went to a relative’s house in Goraya and called Balwinder a number of times from his mother’s mobile for the promised money. On Friday, he was arrested from the Dugri Main Road, after he came to the city. He had been paid ₹22,000 so far.

Killer was to use contract money to finance his wedding

The lure of money, all ₹15 lakh of it, and a blissful, happy life after his wedding that is scheduled on October 14 (Sunday) blinded Gurwinder, 25, a diploma in computer hardware, to the perils of crime. He has now ended up committing a crime as serious as a contract killing and has been nabbed.

Even after the murder, he had met his fiancé and told her that their good days were ahead as he was to get a lot of money. His confidence stemmed from the fact that he had no direct link or relationship to the victim. He had been promised ₹5 lakh on the day of the murder and the rest of ₹10 lakh over a year. His partner was not aware of his crime.

It all started with a chance meeting at a social gathering with industrialist Balwinder, about six months ago. Gurwinder happened to mention that his marriage was being scheduled and he did not even have enough money to feed lunch to guests. This got Balwinder interested, who offered ₹15 lakh to Gurwinder, if he could do a special task for him.

“Finally, around four months ago, Balwinder called up Gurwinder and assigned him the task of killing Mandeep. He also gave him ₹20,000 to him for arranging a weapon,” the commissioner added.

“Gurwinder spent the money on his own needs, instead of buying a weapon. Balwinder also took him along to Ferozepur, where they procured six .32 bore bullets. He was also given training in handling the revolver here,” he added.

Gurwinder started following his victim around two months ago. The mastermind, Balwinder, had hired another man, Aman, to keep a watch on Gurwinder as he had been delaying the final pulling of the trigger.