The District and Sessions Judge Court in Kurukshetra, Haryana, has delivered a major judgment in the brutal murder case of Mohali property dealer Sandeep Singh. The court convicted three individuals, including a Chandigarh Police constable, and sentenced them to life imprisonment. Additionally, the court imposed a fine of ₹18,000 on each of the three convicts. The crime took place in June 2021, when Sandeep Singh's body was discovered riddled with bullets inside his own vehicle near the Punjab border.
Court Verdict and Identity of the Convicts
Following a comprehensive trial, the District and Sessions Court of Kurukshetra found all three accused guilty of murder and criminal conspiracy. The court handed down life sentences to Chandigarh Police constable Manjeet Singh and his accomplices, Pradeep alias Sunny and Sukhpal alias Raj. Sukhpal alias Raj is a resident of Kheri Rajo Singh village in Patiala district, Punjab. The court also levied a penalty of ₹18,000 on each convict, specifying additional imprisonment in the event of default on payment.
Timeline of Disappearance and Discovery of the Body
Sandeep Singh, originally a native of Mano Chahal village in Firozpur district, Punjab, resided with his family in Nayagaon, Mohali. Alongside farming and operating a commission agent shop in his ancestral village, he actively engaged in property dealing across Mohali. On June 21, 2021, Sandeep departed from his residence, informing his family that he was going to collect a pending payment from his friend Manjeet Singh. He took his Innova car, a pair of clothes, and his licensed revolver with him.
Around 8 PM that evening, Sandeep telephoned his wife, Kuldeep Kaur, explaining that he had dropped Manjeet at his village and was staying overnight at a hotel in Patiala. The couple spoke again the following day on June 22. On June 23, during another phone conversation with his wife, constable Manjeet also spoke over Sandeep's phone. Kuldeep Kaur noted that her husband sounded visibly anxious and hurried before the call disconnected abruptly.
At approximately 7 PM that same evening, Sandeep called his wife one final time to state that he was leaving for Chandigarh and would arrive home within two hours. Shortly after this conversation, his mobile phone was switched off, and he failed to return home overnight.
Hostage Situation and Crucial Police Investigations
When Sandeep had not returned by 4 AM on June 24, 2021, his wife contacted Manjeet Singh. Manjeet claimed that Sandeep had departed from his location around 7 PM on June 23 and that he had no further contact with him. Shortly thereafter, Sandeep's Innova car was discovered abandoned near the Bodhani village canal close to the Punjab border, with his body lying inside.
Police investigations revealed that Manjeet and his accomplices had deliberately lured Sandeep to Devigarh under the guise of a meeting. Upon his arrival, they held him hostage in a rented house and seized his mobile phone and licensed firearm. To mislead both the police and Sandeep's family, the perpetrators roamed around the Pehowa region carrying Sandeep's active phone for two days.
On the night of June 23, the culprits drove Sandeep near the Bodhani canal and shot him dead using his own licensed revolver. The post-mortem report confirmed bullet wounds to his knee, arm, chest, and head. Following a complaint lodged by his wife Kuldeep Kaur, the police registered a case and subsequently apprehended all three suspects.
Financial Dispute of 10 Lakh Rupees and Murder Motive
During custodial interrogation, constable Manjeet Singh revealed the core motive behind the killing. Manjeet was employed with the Chandigarh Police, but he suffered from a poor departmental service record, resulting in 18 of his annual increments being stalled by the department. Sandeep Singh had reportedly claimed to possess political and departmental clout capable of rectifying Manjeet's police record.
Sandeep accepted ₹10 lakh from Manjeet in exchange for resolving his official issues. However, even after one and a half years had elapsed, Sandeep neither cleared Manjeet's departmental record nor returned the monetary sum. Agitated by the financial loss and failure of promise, Manjeet Singh conspired with Pradeep and Sukhpal to kidnap Sandeep, ultimately executing his murder.
