Police in India allege suspect in high-profile murder case fled to Canada

Singer Inder Kaur was killed on May 13, Punjab police say

The murder of Punjabi singer Yashinder Kaur has sparked a media frenzy in India as police and her family allege the prime suspect may have fled back to Canada. For The National, CBC’s Susan Ormiston breaks down the case and the complications of the investigation.

Susan Ormiston (new window) · CBC News

The brutal murder of a young Punjabi singer has set off an urgent search for her killer, with police in India alleging the chief suspect has fled to Canada.

Yashinder Kaur, 29, went missing on May 13. Her car was pulled out of a canal near Ludhiana, in India's Punjab state, and six days after the killing, divers recovered her body. An autopsy showed she had been shot twice, in the head and chest.

Better known as Inder Kaur, she was a popular singer on social media and had a role in a Punjabi film. She lived in Ludhiana with her brother Jotinder Singh.

WATCH | Video for Inder Kaur's Hell Cat:

At a news conference a week after she was killed, Punjabi police paraded three men under black hoods who had been arrested for abduction and illegal use of firearms. But police allege their chief suspect is a permanent resident in Canada who knew the victim and was visiting Ludhiana.

Punjab is a northern state in India with close ties to Canada, and the story captured headline news across India.

The search for Kaur was closely tracked by friends and followers in Ludhiana and beyond, putting intense pressure on local police to explain her disappearance.

Under intense pressure to find Kaur's killer, Punjab police arrested three men for abduction and illegal possession of firearms, calling them accomplices to her murder. One of the arrested men, seen here under hoods, is the father of the alleged suspect, Sukhwinder Singh Brar.

The eventual details of her killing set up a frenzy of breaking news reports about the alleged Canadian connection and the Kaur family’s demands for Canada to get involved.

Punjab police say that intense interrogation of the suspected accomplices, as well as information from the Kaur family, statements from taxi drivers and a trail of travel documents, led them to their primary suspect.

Two guns they recovered, say police, were registered to Sukhwinder Singh Brar, a 37-year-old man originally from Moga, Punjab, who had been living for years in Canada. Forensics on the weapons are still pending.

The Kaur family say Sukhwinder Singh and the victim shared a long-distance friendship for about five years, and that there was talk of marriage.

Inder Kaur, left, and Sukhwinder Singh Brar met about five years ago through a mutual friend, according to her family. He was living in Canada but visited India often, they say. In January, they celebrated his 37th birthday in Ludhiana, Punjab, with Kaur's family.

Photo: (Submitted by the Kaur family)

She trusted him blindly, and she loved him dearly. He loved her, too, said Daljeet Kaur, the singer’s mother, in an interview with CBC in Ludhiana.

The Kaur family celebrated Sukhwinder Singh's birthday in January, and according to the family, at that time he confirmed his intention to marry the singer.

He was like a brother to me, said Jotinder Singh, Inder Kaur’s brother.

But according to Kaur’s mother, the family discovered later this spring that Sukhwinder Singh was already married with children in Canada.

The victim's mother, Daljeet Kaur, is 'devastated' and feels betrayed by her daughter's death. She says that after Punjab police alleged the chief suspect lives in Canada, with a wife and children, she wants Canada to help find the alleged killer.

Daljeet Kaur said her daughter didn’t know anything until she phoned him in Canada and his wife picked up the call. As a result of that revelation, Inder Kaur was under a lot of stress, on medication and struggled to sleep.

On the evening of her death in May, her brother Jotinder said she left their home at about 8:30 p.m. in her vehicle. Later that night, he said she assured me over the phone, ‘I will be back in just 10 to 15 minutes.'

When I finally started calling her again, she didn't pick up my calls at all. He never heard from her again.

Deeply worried, he and a cousin filed a report at a local police station and a search began in the following days.

In an interview at the Ludhiana police station, assistant commissioner of police (ACP) Inderjeet Singh Boparai told CBC that under interrogation, one of the men arrested— Sukhwinder Singh’s father — confessed that Sukhwinder had come to India and they were accomplices in the crime.

Punjab police assistant deputy commissioner Inderjeet Singh Boparai in Ludhiana says police want to question their chief suspect but cannot approach Canadian authorities directly.

He said police have evidence the suspect left India via Nepal shortly after Kaur was reported missing.

It’s not known whether the suspect is currently in Canada. CBC has confirmed through public records that Sukhwinder Singh Brar is listed as a director in a construction firm in Calgary and owns a residence there. He has not responded to CBC’s attempts to contact him by phone and email.

The Calgary police service told CBC News they had no knowledge or involvement in the file.

The RCMP said they are not aware of anything from a federal policing standpoint.

Jaspal Singh Giaspura, a politician in Ludhiana and friend of the family, is critical of the initial investigation, saying the police’s primary suspect had more accomplices, including, he alleges, a police constable.

The first investigation was not a proper investigation, Giaspura told CBC in an interview at his political office behind a gas station. He said he pushed to elevate the case to a special investigation branch, which is now overseeing it.

Jaspal Singh Giaspura, a local politician, is advocating for the Kaur family in the murder case. In an interview with CBC, he said the case has been bumped up to a special investigative branch in the Punjab police.

Giaspura says once all the evidence is gathered, there should be pressure to hand over this man to the Indian government.

The Kaur family is also asking for Canada’s help. Gurinderpal Singh, a cousin of Inder Kaur, had to identify her body, which was the toughest part of this horrible tragedy, he said.

He can't understand why there isn't already enough evidence for Canada to act.

We appeal to the Canadian government: we have all the necessary evidence and proof, he should be immediately deported from Canada, he said.

Gurinderpal Singh added that the family was apprehensive about legal procedures because our legal system is structured in a complex way — anything can happen or get delayed.

But given that the investigation isn’t complete and the police’s main suspect hasn't been charged, Canada is not involved. Police have 90 days from the date of the killing to charge any suspects, including the three in jail in Ludhiana.

Jotinder Singh is seen outside the family home he shared with his sister Inder Kaur in Ludhiana before she disappeared. Singh says his sister was the centre of love in their house. 'We had no idea that a horrific incident like this could ever happen to our family.'

Only then could the case be referred to India’s Ministry of External Affairs, which could decide to formally ask for co-operation from Canadian authorities.

In the meantime, Kaur’s mother is still reeling from the murder of her daughter.

My child, come back to me, Daljeet Kaur said through tears. Nothing looks right to me; nothing feels good anymore. I remain completely devastated.

She’s desperately trying to help solve what happened to her daughter.

Susan Ormiston is an award-winning international correspondent covering climate and world news. She's been a foreign correspondent in London, Washington and on assignment in Moscow. Susan has reported from more than 30 countries, including multiple conflict zones.

With files from Varsha Garg and Saloni Bhugra