KAPURTHALA, April 29 — Harvinder Singh, a parole absconder convicted in a 2012 double murder, was arrested Monday from a roadside eatery in Lakadia village, 52 km from Bhuj in Gujarat’s Kutch district.
He is being brought back to Punjab’s Kapurthala district for interrogation in connection with the abduction of a High Court lawyer and his companion from Phagwara.
Punjab Police officials said the 35-year-old convict, also known as Pinder, was caught during a coordinated operation between Punjab and Gujarat police.
“Harvinder is the primary suspect in the kidnapping of Punjab and Haryana High Court lawyer Sanjeev Kumar and his friend Anju Pal,” said Jalandhar Range DIG Naveen Singla. “Both have been missing since April 19.”
Harvinder had been serving a life term for the high-profile murder of Moga deputy superintendent of police Balraj Singh Gill and his friend Monika Kapila.
He was out on parole for two months and failed to return to prison by the April 23 deadline.
Authorities now fear Sanjeev, 44, and Anju, 42, may have been killed. “We suspect both have been eliminated, though their bodies have not been found,” said Phagwara SP Rupinder Kaur.
The lawyer’s Hyundai i20 was recovered in Ludhiana. Police have also arrested three of Harvinder’s local accomplices.
According to investigators, Harvinder had a prior relationship with Anju and, along with three men, forcibly entered her apartment on April 19.
“They tied up her teenage daughter, held the couple at gunpoint, and abducted them,” said an official. The girl was rescued four days later by security staff.
Sources added that Anju has a criminal history herself.
The 2012 murders for which Harvinder was convicted drew nationwide attention. DSP Balraj Singh Gill, a President’s Medal recipient, was found with his throat slit and face smashed.
Monika Kapila’s body was discovered in a bathroom at a farmhouse on Ludhiana’s Humbran Road. The crime took place during an attempted robbery.
In September 2015, Harvinder, along with Pritpal and Umesh, was sentenced to life imprisonment. Three others—Hassanjit Singh and Ravinder Singh—received seven-year sentences for conspiracy and forgery, while Davinder Singh was jailed for five years.
DIG Singla confirmed that Harvinder is being brought back to Punjab on transit remand and will face extended interrogation in the coming days.
