Mohali: A 31-year-old woman, a resident of Fatehpur Jattan and a call centre employee, was murdered by her acquaintance in Phase 5 this morning. The deceased has been identified as Baljinder Kaur, while the suspect has been identified as Sukhchain Singh (36). He earlier worked at a filling station in Samrala. They knew each other for the last four years. The woman had allegedly rejected Sukhchain’s marriage proposal, leading to a bitter rift between the families. CCTV footage shows Sukhchain, with his face covered, waiting for Baljinder under a tree near his office. When the victim got off the auto-rickshaw and started walking towards the office with three other girls, the suspect attacked her with a kirpan. Baljinder ran to save herself, but the suspect stopped her and attacked her repeatedly with the kirpan. He stabbed the woman more than 10 times on her head, neck, hands and back. Her dupatta got entangled in a passing vehicle, following which she fell on the road. Thinking her to be dead, the suspect tried to flee from the spot. A food delivery boy and a hospital employee here, Maninder Singh, caught hold of him near Phase 4. Meanwhile, police also reached the spot. A scuffle broke out between the suspect and police. He also attacked a policeman with a kirpan. The attacker also sustained injuries and was rushed to a hospital, police said.
Meanwhile, the woman was rushed to a hospital where doctors declared her dead. Police later arrested the suspect and recovered the weapon from him. Punjab State Women Commission chairperson Raj Lali Gill said: “The suspect had attacked the woman about eight months ago too. The matter was reported to the police. He was detained and later let off by the police with a warning. The girl’s family members took an undertaking from her family through the village panchayat that he would not pursue her again.” The victim was unmarried and the sole breadwinner in the family. Her younger brother lives in Italy and her sister is studying here. CCTV footage shows the suspect, Sukhchain Singh, with his face covered, waiting for Baljinder Kaur under a tree near her office. When the victim got off the auto-rickshaw and started walking towards the office with three other girls, the suspect attacked her with a kirpan. The suspect had attacked the woman eight months ago as well. The matter was reported to the police. He was detained and later let off with a warning. The girl’s family members took an undertaking from her relatives through the village panchayat that he would not pursue her again. – Raj Lali Gill, Chairperson, Punjab State Women’s Commission
