Murder accused jumps off roof, lands in Yamunanagar hospital

YAMUNANAGAR: Yamunanagar police on Saturday arrested a man from Morinda town of Punjab for the murder of Bal Chappar village sarpanch’s husband, Rishpal Singh.

Sukhwinder Singh, alias Sukhi, of Bal Chappar was booked for murder and criminal conspiracy on May 22, on a complaint by Rishpal’s father, Jagdish Singh.

When he was trying to escape the police, he jumped off a rooftop on to an empty plot, hurting his ankles in the process. He is now under treatment at a hospital.

Yamunanagar CIA-I in-charge inspector Rakesh Matauria said Sukhwinder was produced in court, which remanded him in judicial custody. “On Saturday, we received a tip-off that Sukhwinder was residing in a rented room in Morinda. We formed a team and raided the hideout in Sunder Nagar area of Morinda. Though the accused attempted to flee from the house and he jumped from the rooftop on to an empty plot, we nabbed him,” said the official.

While jumping from the rooftop, Sukhwinder hurt his ankle joints. “He is undergoing treatment at a hospital in Yamunanagar. Investigations are on and some arrests are pending,” added Rakesh.

Sukhwinder, Bal Chappar residents Varinder and Bhagat, and two unidentified people have been booked under sections 34 (common intention), 120-B (criminal conspiracy), and 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Rishpal, husband of Bal Chappar sarpanch Satnam Kaur, was allegedly murdered over a dispute related to panchayat land.

On May 22 morning, Rishpal was gunned down when he was working in the fields.

Bal Chappar police station SHO Satpal Singh had said Rishpal wanteded to construct a sports track for village youth on the disputed land, but his rivals were against it. “For this, Rishpal had got illegal possession of panchayat land vacated, which triggered the violence,” the SHO said.