In a major breakthrough, Kapurthala Police have cracked the high-profile kidnapping and double murder case of Advocate Sanjeev Kumar and his companion Anju Paul in Phagwara, arresting six accused, including a convicted murderer out on parole.
The victims were abducted at gunpoint from their flat in AGI Colony on the night of April 19–20 by three masked men and taken to a remote field near Ludhiana, where they were strangled and buried near Village Chahar.
The investigation was launched after the advocate’s father, Sudesh Kumar, filed a complaint on April 24. The FIR was registered under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Arms Act at Sadar Phagwara police station.
Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Gaurav Toora revealed that the mastermind behind the murders was Harwinder Singh alias Pinder, a hardened criminal serving parole from a life sentence in a 2012 double murder case involving a police DSP. Harwinder, who had married Anju Paul in jail in 2019, grew resentful after she distanced herself and started living with Advocate Sanjeev Kumar.
Harwinder, also involved in drug trafficking while in jail, reportedly enlisted five accomplices to eliminate the couple following Anju’s refusal to aid his parole and bail matters.
A special investigation team, including senior officers and detective units, employed forensic analysis, CCTV footage, electronic surveillance, and human intelligence. On April 25, the police arrested Jashanpreet Singh alias Jassu, who had helped with logistics and disposing of the vehicle used in the abduction.
Harwinder fled to Gujarat but was apprehended in Kutch by Gujarat Police and brought back to Punjab by April 28. He initially misled investigators about the bodies’ whereabouts but later confessed to their burial site near Ludhiana, where forensic teams exhumed the decomposed remains on May 6.
Further arrests included Manjot Singh alias Fruity, Jagseer Singh alias Kalu, and Kuldeep alias Billa. Police continue to search for a seventh suspect still at large.
SSP Toora called the crime “premeditated and cold-blooded,” emphasizing the dangers of granting parole to habitual offenders. Investigations are ongoing to uncover links between the accused and other unsolved crimes in Punjab.
The recovery of the bodies and arrests have brought relief to the victims’ families and strengthened public trust in law enforcement. The exhumed bodies have been sent for autopsy at the civil hospital, and all accused remain in custody.
