Who Was Rupinder Kaur Pandher? US-Based NRI Lured To India By Fiance, Burnt Alive In Cold-Blooded Plot

The brutal murder of 37-year-old US-based NRI woman Rupinder Kaur Pandher has shocked people in India and abroad. Police allege she was killed by a hired hitman at the behest of her fiance, a UK-based man. Rupinder had travelled to India in July at the invitation of her fiance, Charanjit Singh Grewal. Grewal, 67, is a Ludhiana-origin NRI living in England. He had promised to marry her.

On July 24, Rupinder’s sister Kamal Kaur Khairah noticed her phone was switched off. She grew suspicious. By July 28, she contacted the US Embassy in New Delhi. The embassy pressed the Ludhiana police to investigate. Soon, an FIR was filed naming suspects, including Grewal.

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Alleged Murder Plot

According to police, Grewal did not want to marry Rupinder. He was already married but had been in a relationship with her for about a year. Rupinder had met him through a matrimonial website. She believed she had a future with him after two failed marriages.

Investigators say Grewal decided to “get rid of her.” He allegedly offered Rs 50 lakh to Sukhjeet Singh, a typist at the Ludhiana court complex. Police say Rupinder was taken to Sukhjeet’s house in Kila Raipur on July 12. There, she was attacked with baseball bats. After killing her, Sukhjeet allegedly burned her body in a storeroom.

The remains were later packed into four gunny bags and dumped in a drain near Ghungrana village. Sukhjeet reportedly confessed to the killing.

The primary motive, police revealed, was financial. Rupinder had already transferred a significant amount of money to Grewal before her visit. But Grewal allegedly did not want to go through with the marriage.

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Deputy Inspector General Satinder Singh confirmed that Grewal is a suspect and is currently absconding. Deputy Commissioner of Police Rupinder Singh told Hindustan Times that Grewal promised marriage, then plotted murder when he changed his mind.

Rupinder’s sister Kamaljit, also a US citizen, expressed deep grief. She said her sister was promised love and security but was instead betrayed and killed in the “most brutal way.” Police have arrested Sukhjeet Singh. Efforts are on to trace and arrest Charanjit Singh Grewal, who remains on the run.