The police on Sunday said the alleged harassment of the sister of one of the accused, who lives in Canada, was the suspected motive behind the abduction and murder of 27-year-old Nawab Khan.
The police have arrested three men identified as Sehajveer Singh, Gursevak Singh and Jagjit Singh in the case. The occupants of the black Mahindra Scorpio then assaulted Khan before bundling him into the vehicle and driving off. The incident was captured on CCTV footage and in a video recorded by a passerby.
An SUV deliberately rammed into Khan’s motorcycle near a petrol pump on the Patiala-Sangrur road around 1.30 pm. The police had initially identified Gursevak and Jagjit as suspects and registered a case under Sections 103(1) (murder), 140(1) (kidnapping or abducting in order to murder) and 3(5) (common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
Patiala superintendent of police (SP) Rajesh Chibber said the police would seek the accused’s remand for further interrogation to establish the sequence of events. “The police will also determine whether others were involved in the killing,” the SP said. Khan had allegedly been harassing Sehajveer’s sister over the phone, according to police officials privy to the probe. Investigators said the accused allegedly tracked Khan’s movements before executing the plan. They used a rented vehicle to carry out the abduction and murder, police said.
“The three accused will be produced before a court on Monday.
Police said the rented vehicle and the investigation into the accused’s movements helped them establish leads in the case. The police will seek their remand for further questioning,” officials said.
