The skeletal remains of a 69-year-old US-based NRI woman were found in a drain near Ghungrana village, Ludhiana police said on Wednesday. Her damaged iPhone, which officials believe was thrown away to hide evidence, was also recovered. The discovery came two months after her mysterious disappearance, a case that came to light with the arrest of a Kila Raipur resident who has been accused of her murder.
Who is Rupinder Kaur Pandher?
US-based Rupinder Kaur Pandher had come to India after being invited by Charanjit Singh Grewal, a Ludhiana-born NRI living in England, who was supposed to marry her, police said.
The police revealed that Sukhjeet Singh, a typist at the court complex in Ludhiana, admitted to killing Kaur, a report by Hindustan Times said. He told investigators that he was hired by Kaur’s 67-year-old UK-based fiancé, Charanjit Singh Grewal.
Deputy Commissioner of Police Rupinder Singh told HT that Charanjit had promised to marry Rupinder but later changed his mind. To “get rid of her,” he allegedly paid Sukhjeet to commit the murder. According to the police, Sukhjeet attacked Rupinder with baseball bats inside his house in Kila Raipur on July 12. He then tried to burn her body on charcoal, packed the remains in four gunny bags, and dumped them in a drain near Ghungrana.
Why was the NRI woman killed?
According to the report, investigators have revealed that Charanjit’s main motive was his unwillingness to marry Rupinder. Though already married, he had been in a relationship with her, who was single after two failed marriages. Rupinder’s sister Kamaljit, also US citizen, expressed deep pain over the crime. She said her sister was promised love and marriage but was instead “murdered in the most brutal way.” Kamaljit said Rupinder had met Charanjit only a year ago through a matrimonial website, and came to India believing she had a future with him.
Kamaljit added that she had also sought help from the US embassy in India when Rupinder went missing, which pushed local authorities to act. She further mentioned an ongoing property dispute with Rupinder, in which her sister had been declared a proclaimed offender by the court.
Murder plot exposed
Police revealed that Charanjit and Sukhjeet first met in 2014 during an election campaign. Later, Charanjit asked Sukhjeet to assist Rupinder in her property dispute case, since Sukhjeet worked at the court complex. Rupinder often stayed at Sukhjeet’s house during her visits to Ludhiana and had even given him power of attorney to handle her cases.
She also sent both Charanjit and Sukhjeet large sums of money, estimated between Rs 30 lakh and rs 35 lakh, believing it was for her wedding expenses. When Charanjit began avoiding her, she threatened to file a police complaint against him. That’s when Charanjit allegedly told Sukhjeet to kill her, promising him ₹50 lakh as payment—money that police say has still not been given.
Inspector Sukhjinder Singh said Charanjit lured Rupinder back to India with a false promise of marriage. After the murder, Rupinder’s US-based sister, Kamaljit Khaizah, tried to reach her through Sukhjeet. To cover his tracks, Sukhjeet himself filed a missing person’s complaint in August, claiming that Rupinder had left for Delhi airport to attend a wedding in Canada and never returned.
A forensic team is now examining the recovered evidence, while police are also tracing the money trail linked to the two accused. Officials confirmed that Charanjit is still in the UK and has been named as a suspect in the FIR, which now carries charges of murder and criminal conspiracy under the BNS Act.