Influencer Kamal Kaur Bhabhi’s murder driven by ‘moral policing’; 2 ‘nihangs’ arrested

The Bathinda police today claimed to have solved the blind murder case of social media influencer Kanchan Kumari, popularly known as Kamal Kaur Bhabhi, with the arrest of two key accused. The police said the murder was driven by “moral policing”.

Bathinda SSP Amneet Kondal said that the accused had earlier warned Kanchan not to post her online content, which they thought was “objectionable”. “The key conspirator, Amritpal Singh, had previously cautioned her to stop posting ‘vulgar’ videos and had planned to teach her a lesson. He, along with others, hatched a conspiracy and they strangled her to death at an isolated location on Tuesday,” claimed the SSP.

Those arrested have been identified as Jaspreet Singh (32) of Mehron village in Moga district and Nimaratjeet Singh (21) of Harike in Tarn Taran district. Both, said to be unemployed, often wear ‘nihang’ attire. They were arrested around 1 am on Thursday.

However, Amritpal is absconding. Notably, Canada-based terrorist Arsh Dalla, too, had reportedly threatened Kanchan with dire consequences if she did not stop posting “inappropriate videos”.

The SSP said that Amritpal had approached Kanchan at her Ludhiana residence on June 7, seeking promotional work in Bathinda. “He visited again the next day and convinced her to visit Bathinda. On June 9, he contacted her again and she agreed, and after 11 pm that night, her mother lost all contact with her,” said the SSP.

Later, on Wednesday night, her decomposed body was found from her car parked outside Adesh University.

During the investigation, the police gathered CCTV footage to trace the accused. “The accused had also lured her to a workshop on the pretext of getting her car repaired. During an argument, Jaspreet, who was wearing a ‘kamarkassa’ (waistband) under his shirt, strangled her,” claimed the SSP. She confirmed that the murder was pre-planned and executed with full coordination. The body was later shifted and dumped in her car to mislead the police, claimed the SSP.

Kanchan had nearly 4 lakh followers on Instagram and frequently posted reels and stories. She was cremated in Bathinda on Thursday as the family was unable to take back the mutilated body to Ludhiana. 

Kanchan’s mother Girija Devi further informed the police that her daughter used to travel often for promotional work. Notably, Kanchan belonged to a family of migrant workers, but used to speak Punjabi fluently.

Bathinda