Two arrested for Indian’s murder in Australia

SYDNEY - A man and his wife were arrested Thursday for the killing of 25-year-old Ranjodh Singh whose partially burnt body was found dumped near a road in Australia’s New South Wales late last year, police said.

Police said a 23-year-old man and his 20-year-old wife were arrested at two addresses in Sans Souci, in Sydney’s south, just after 11 a.m., Sydney Morning Herald reported.

Singh’s body was found beside Wilga Road, Willbriggie, near Griffith, Dec 29. Barely four days after his murder, another Indian Nitin Garg was stabbed in Melbourne, causing an outcry in India.

There has been a string of attacks on Indians that have strained relations between New Delhi and Canberra.

Singh was last seen on the streets of Griffith three nights before his body was found. He had recently moved to Wagga Wagga but was staying in Griffith to pick pumpkins and was living in a shared house with other farm workers from India.

Sydney Morning Herald reported it is understood that Singh joined a group of friends for pizza at Eagle Boys on the last night he was seen.

A friend of Singh had set himself up as a contractor and he employed Singh.

The group finished their pizza and went to a party at a nearby flat. They drank and celebrated the birthday of one of the men, but there was tension in the air and some time before midnight a fight broke out, the media report said.

The contractor is thought to have owed a handful of pickers, including Singh, $9,000.

Singh’s aunt Sarita said her nephew was a gentle, friendly man. The victim’s wife, Kanchan, was studying cookery in Melbourne.