After 8 years on the run, Mohali Police arrest Gaurav Kumar in double murder of journalist KJ Singh, his mother
Gaurav had entered KJ Singh’s residence in Mohali, on the night of September 22–23, 2017, and murdered Singh and his bed-ridden mother
PTC Web Desk: In a significant development, the Mohali Police have arrested Gaurav Kumar, the main accused in the 2017 double murder of senior journalist KJ Singh and his mother Gurcharan Kaur. The accused, who had been evading arrest since jumping bail in 2020, was nabbed from Noida on Thursday.
Gaurav Kumar, a resident of Pipala village in Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh, was tracked down and arrested following an extensive two-and-a-half-month operation carried out under the supervision of DSP Naveenpal Singh Lehal (PPS) of the Special Crime Cell and SI Balwinder Singh.
According to DSP Lehal, the police combined technical surveillance with human intelligence to trace Gaurav Kumar’s movements and identify his current location. “We found that Gaurav had been employed for over two years at a large housing society in Noida, which has more than 500 homes. He started as a security guard, later became head of security, and was eventually promoted to manager of the Residents’ Welfare Association (RWA). Shockingly, no background verification was ever conducted by the RWA,” he said.
Residents of the society, mostly senior citizens, were reportedly stunned to discover that their manager was a wanted double murder accused.
The 2017 case was registered at the Mohali Police Station under Sections 302, 411, 449, 465, 468, 471, and 201 of the IPC. As per the investigation, Gaurav had entered KJ Singh’s residence in Sector 71, Mohali, on the night of September 22–23, 2017, and murdered Singh and his mother following a personal dispute.
The police found that earlier that day, the accused and the journalist had a heated altercation in a nearby park, during which KJ Singh allegedly slapped Gaurav. Enraged, the latter bought a knife and committed the murders before fleeing the spot.
A few days later, Gaurav was caught driving Singh’s stolen Ford Ikon car and investigators recovered a mobile phone, ATM card, TV, DVD player, and set-top box belonging to the victims from his possession. In 2022, he was declared a proclaimed offender after absconding while out on bail.