A 23-year-old man was arrested in Punjab, days after he brutally murdered his lover’s teenage daughter, stuffed the body into a suitcase and set it alight in a remote forest to conceal the crime, the police reported on Saturday.

The victim aged 15, a resident of Nawanshahr, had gone missing on May 29. However, what initially appeared to be a missing person’s case quickly transformed into a gruesome murder probe which has sent shockwaves through the local community after the horrendous series of events was unravelled.

Mother’s desperate search prompts police probe

The victim’s mother, named Usha Rani, raised an alarm and approached the Nawanshahr Police Station after her daughter went missing. In her statement to the cops, she alleged that an unidentified person had lured the minor girl away on the pretext of marriage.

Acting upon the disclosure, the police registered a case and launched a manhunt to trace the girl. However, as they delved into the family’s background, the spotlight turned onto a suspect far closer to home than the complainant woman could have ever anticipated.

Accused had an affair with victim’s mother, say cops

Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) of Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar, Tushar Gupta, said that tip-offs and local enquiries led the cops to one Gurwinder Singh alias Gurpreet Gopa. The man aged 23 was a resident of Jadli village and frequently visited the girl’s home.

Senior police officials said Singh had been in a relationship with the girl’s mother. However, the minor girl objected to the affair vehemently, leading to repeated and bitter arguments between her and Singh.

The tension ended in a gruesome climax on May 29. When Singh learnt that the girl was alone at her rented accommodation located on Garhshankar Road, he barged into the house and allegedly strangled her to death.

Singh takes a horrific step to cover the tracks

Singh, in a bid to cover his tracks, reportedly packed the teen girl’s body into a large suitcase, strapped it onto the pillion of his bike and rode into the neighbouring Hoshiarpur district.

He navigated through a secluded, densely wooded area near Khuralgarh village, and stopped to set the body-laden suitcase on fire. He fled the scene thereafter.

After the police detained Singh and interrogated him, he admitted to committing the crime. Following the confession, a specialist task force led by Inspector Avtar Singh, along with forensic scientists, combed the forest and recovered charred skeletal remains.

Police said forensic efforts are underway to ascertain the identity of the skeleton, while Singh remains in police custody and a probe into the case continues.