Contractor murdered, then burnt in Punjab

MOHALI - In what appears to be an act of revenge, a road contractor was stabbed to death before being burnt in this Punjab town, police said Thursday.

According to police, the deceased had sought sexual favours from his business partner, Krishan Chander Batham’s wife in lieu of ensuring his bail. Batham, alias V.K. was caught by the Haryana police for immoral-trafficking this year.

The deceased was identified as Sikander Singh, who lived in a rented accommodation in Kharar town, around 10 km from here, with V.K.

During night patrol, cops saw flames at a secluded place here in Sector 66 at around 1 a.m. Monday. Upon going close, police found that the flames were emerging from a human body. They immediately doused the flames but the body was already burnt and beyond recognition.

While scrutinizing the area, police found burnt currency notes and a driver’s licence. The police managed to ascertain the victim’s address in Himachal Pradesh through the driver’s licence.

“During our investigation we learned that on the night of the crime V.K., Sikander and two other people Monty and Sonu were seen together near Sector 66. During routine vehicle checks at a police check-post we managed to arrest V.K. who confessed to his crime,” Senior Superintendent of Police Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said.

He added: “During the interrogation, V.K. admitted that he hired Monty and Sonu to kill Sikander for Rs.30,000.”

In the meantime, police have also arrested Monty also known as Rakesh Kumar Sharma, who also confessed to his crime.

Talking about the provocation behind the killing, Bhullar said: “When V.K. was in jail, Sikander had called his wife to his home with Rs.15,000 to ensure his bail. After receiving the amount Sikander misbehaved with her and sought sexual favours.”

“Besides this, Sikander also black mailed V.K. on one account or the other, therefore he decided to kill him,” Bhullar said.

Mohali town is around 10 km from state capital Chandigarh.