Nearly a fortnight after a Punjabi social media influencer Manjeet Kaur, 28, who was abducted and set on fire, succumbed to her burn injuries, police have made the first arrest in the case.
Pinda also told investigators that Rinku was allegedly in a relationship with Kaur, although police have not independently confirmed the claim. Pinda allegedly drove the vehicle in which the two took Kaur to Morinda, where she was allegedly assaulted, tied to a mulberry tree and set on fire. A divorcee, she had a seven-year-old son who lived with her former husband.
The accused, identified as Parminder Singh, 25, alias Pinda, an alleged accomplice of the main accused Rinku, was arrested from Sector 48 with the latter’s vehicle on Tuesday night, police said. Pinda was allegedly present when Kaur was abducted from Sector 34 on the night of July 3, police said. During questioning, he allegedly told police that Rinku had an argument with Kaur before he called her to Sector 34. Pinda has also told investigators that Kaur was killed in Sector 34 itself, but police said they are awaiting a forensic report before confirming the claim. After much confusion and passing the buck citing jurisdictional issues, the UT police had registered a case under Sections 140(1) (kidnapping), 103(1) (murder) and 3(5) (joint criminal liability) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), on the complaint of Kaur’s mother, Kanta Devi. Kaur remained unconscious at PGIMER for several weeks before briefly regaining consciousness on August 5. Her condition later deteriorated and she died of her burn injuries on August 26.
Police said Rinku remains absconding and they are hopeful of arresting him soon. She then recounted the incident to her family, according to police. Kaur was seven weeks pregnant at the time of her death, police said.
A local court sent him to four-day police remand on Wednesday.
