Kamal Kaur Bhabhi’s murder was planned 3 months back; Amritpal also issued threats to 2 other Punjabi women influencers: Police

Amritpal Singh Mehron–the alleged accused in the murder case of Kanchan Kumari alias ‘Kamal Kaur Bhabhi’–had planned the Punjab-based social media influencer murder three months prior and had also issued threats to at least two other Punjab-based female influencers.

Bathinda Senior Superintendent of Police Amneet Kondal said Mehron fled to the UAE hours after he allegedly killed Kanchan Kumari. Kondal said police have already issued a lookout circular against Mehron, a resident of Moga, adding that the 30-year-old is a self-styled Sikh radical leader.

“Different police teams were already looking for Amritpal by conducting raids. On Saturday, we issued a lookout circular. When we got his passport details and checked his travel records, we found that he had fled to the UAE after taking a flight from Amritsar in the evening, just hours after the murder was committed in Bathinda," Kondal told reporters in Bathinda. “We will tie up with other authorities/agencies and will follow due procedure for his deportation. We have informed the authorities that Mehron is wanted in a murder case," she said.

On June 13, two accused — Jaspreet Singh (32) of Moga and Nimratjit Singh (21) from Tarn Taran — were arrested in connection with the murder of Kanchan Kumari, who was found dead in an abandoned car in a parking lot in Bathinda.

Kanchan Kumari was murdered on June 9. SSP Kondal said two of Mehron’s associates who were arrested, and one of them identified as Ranjit Singh, said they killed Kanchan for uploading “immoral and vulgar content that hurt the community’s sentiments."

After the alleged murder, a video surfaced on the internet where Mehron claimed that Kanchan was killed due to her “immoral and vulgar content" on social media, and two of his accomplices have been arrested in connection with the case.

In his video, Mehron also warned other influencers creating “objectionable content" to refrain from such activities. Targeting another Punjab-based influencer, he said it is “not necessary that a body will be found every time," as he indirectly referred to Kanchan’s body being left in her car.

Kondal said that Mehron had planned her murder three months ago. Mehron, along with Jaspreet and Nimratjit, had even traveled to Ludhiana, staying in nearby hotels at times, and tracking the movements, lifestyle, and car used by Kanchan. The SSP further detailed how Mehron had allegedly approached Kanchan the previous week on the pretext of a car promotion event in Bathinda. On June 9, she left her Ludhiana house, informing her mother that she was going to a promotional event. However, her family lost contact with her afterward. Mehron, Jaspreet, and Nimratjit reached Ludhiana from Moga the same day and they contacted Kanchan and called her to a place in Ludhiana, the SSP said on Sunday. After she arrived at the location, Mehron sat in her car’s backseat, while the other two traveled in their car.

They had promised Kanchan to repair her car in a garage in Bathinda.

On reaching Bathinda, Mehron, in a pre-planned conspiracy, shifted to his SUV, and Nimratjit, along with Kanchan, went to the garage, the officer said.

Mehron parked his SUV near a petrol pump and later started driving Kanchan’s vehicle, and all of them sat inside. At one point, they snatched her two mobile phones, and Nimratjit and Jaspreet, both sitting in the back seats, strangled her to death.

Later, Mehron left in Ranjit’s car with another unknown accused, while Jaspreet and Nimratjit took Kanchan’s car along with her body to Adesh University and abandoned it there, they said. When they realized that the piece of cloth used to strangle Kanchan had been left behind, they went there again to recover it. Her body was discovered when locals informed the police about a foul smell emanating from a car in the parking area near Adesh University.

The body was brought to the civil hospital mortuary, and her mother confirmed the identity the next day. With PTI inputs.

Punjab