Pet dog plays crucial role in solving 2021 Mohali murder
A Mohali court convicted and sentenced a man to life imprisonment in a 2021 murder incident, with a pet dog of the victim playing a crucial role in cracking the case.
The court of Additional Sessions Judge Vikrant Kumar awarded a life term to Jagir Singh, a resident of village Parol, for the murder of goat farmer Sucha Singh, a resident of Chhoti Badi Naggal village in Mohali in June 2021. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh.
Two other accused, Desraj and Satnam Singh, were, however, acquitted in the murder case.
The court also rejected the prosecution’s plea for capital punishment, stating that the case did not qualify as one of the “rarest of rare”.
The court convicted the accused on July 17 and the sentence was pronounced on July 22.
According to the prosecution, Sucha Singh went missing on June 12, 2021, after leaving home to graze his goats.
The family came to know that Jagir Singh took Sucha to his house for making enclosure for goats. When Sucha did not return home that day, Jagir told the family that Sucha had gone with one Desraj. But Sucha did not return home, prompting the family to lodge a missing complaint with police. Despite the family carrying out search at their own level for over a week, Sucha Singh could not be found. Thereafter, the family members of Sucha Singh went to Jagir’s farmhouse on June 20, 2021. The family also took along their pet dog Rocky.
When the family members were looking for Sucha Singh, their pet dog Rocky went towards a small pit. The family then started digging and found Sucha’s T-shirt. Later, police was called in and the headless body of Sucha Singh was exhumed from the spot.
The family alleged that Sucha was murdered as Jagir owed Rs 40,000 to the victim for the purchase of two goats and four lambs.
Police registered a murder case against Jagir and two others — Satnam Singh and Desraj.
The court ordered that compensation be given to Sucha’s wife, Sunita Devi, through the District Legal Services Authority.
