Punjab Shooting Case: 5 Arrested After Ex-Wife’s Family In US Funds NRI’s Targeted Attack

PC: IANS

Punjab Police disclosed on Sunday that the recent shooting of a Non-Resident Indian (NRI) from the US at his farmhouse near Amritsar was an assassination attempt orchestrated by his ex-wife's family, who are also US residents. They hired local criminals for the act. Five individuals, including the ex-wife's father, have been detained. The crime's motive was the discord between the two NRI families.

The severely injured NRI is now reported to be out of danger. Police Commissioner Ranjit Singh Dhillon informed the press that the victim's former wife's family in the US had offered a contract to eliminate the NRI, Sukhchain Singh.

"The conflict involves two families based in America. In pursuit of vengeance, one family employed hitmen and targeted the other's residence. The assailants' arrest is imminent; the case is resolved and their capture is only a matter of time. They secured international funds for this crime," he said. "We're aware that the targeted NRI was present in India and have arrested five individuals," he added.

The arrests include the victim's former father-in-law from Hoshiarpur, Punjab, and an Amritsar hotel manager who accommodated the assailants. The police have also followed the money trail post-crime. "We will soon apprehend others involved," Dhillon assured.

The attack occurred when two assailants on motorcycles invaded the home of 43-year-old NRI, Sukhchain Singh, in Daburji village, shooting him in the presence of his mother, wife, and children from his previous marriage, critically injuring him. A bullet entered his head, narrowly missing the brain and other hit his arm.

According to the police, one of the attackers’ weapons jammed and could not fire more. Sukhchain Singh, a US resident who came here 25 days back, was shot in the head and arm by the two assailants in front of his family, including children, who could be seen in CCTV footage pleading not to harm their father with folded hands.

He was immediately rushed to a private hospital in Amritsar with critical bullet injuries. In the CCTV footage, the miscreants, who came on a motorcycle and did not wear masks, are seen entering the house in the morning. Singh's children were playing inside the house at the time. One of the armed assailants is seen approaching the NRI and asking him to enter a bedroom at gunpoint. As he resisted, both assailants fired at him from close range.