Cops suspect role of these 5 in murder of KJ, mother

MOHALI: The police on Saturday released grabs from CCTV footage of five youths suspected to be involved in the double murder of senior journalist K J Singh, 64, and his 92-year-old mother Gurcharan Kaur.
The two were found murdered in their house in Phase 3B2 on September 23.
Mohali superintendent of police (D) Harbir Singh Atwal said, “The video grabs have been released after scrutinizing footage from a number of CCTV cameras installed in the locality and market.”
The pictures have been shared with all police stations in the state besides with Haryana, Chandigarh and Himachal Pradesh police.“It appears that the suspects were making a video recording of the house of the journalist located at the end of a lane,” Atwal said.
On being asked about the basis behind calling the five suspects, Atwal replied they were making a video of the house and their posture or body movement was suspicious. “They were roaming around the house between 4pm and 6 pm on September 22, a day before the murder,” he said. “Out of the five, two were turbaned. All the suspects were wearing sports shoes. It is possible that they are linked with some sports activity,” Atwal added.
None of the family members, colleagues and friends of K J Singh could identify the five, who appeared to be in their late twenties.
The police suspect a white-coloured Mahindra Scorpio went towards the house of K J Singh and reversed back immediately a day before of the murder. The suspects might have fled in the same SUV after the double murder, police said.
K J Singh’s green Ford Ikon car has also been missing since the killings. The accused allegedly drove away around 12 midnight. This means that murders took place between 11.30 pm and 12 midnight, police said.
Atwal said some criminals involved in contract killings and lodged in different jails in Punjab were questioned and pictures of the suspects shown to them.
The police have questioned relatives of the victims besides 70 other people, including colleagues and other people known to K J Singh, but are yet to achieve a breakthrough.
The attackers had stabbed K J Singh 15 times in the stomach and slit his throat, after which they strangulated his mother. They had taken away some valuables, including a car, wallets, a TV and K J Singh’s cell phone.
MONTH ON, POLICE STRUGGLE FOR LEADS
Mobile and internet data
The Mohali police have opted to collect and use mobile dump data from the locality of K J Singh in Phase 3B2, Mohali. Those cell phone numbers with unusual activity, if some regular user had turned off the phone during that time or someone talking to an unknown person during those hours, might be questioned, depending upon the circumstances, age group and other factors, said a senior official of Mohali police while explaining that privacy of no resident will be intruded.
Contract killing
The local police are not ruling out the theory of contract killing. On the night of the murders, it was raining heavily. As the visibility was poor, no person is visible in any of the footage taken from nearby CCTV cameras during the night.
Property
The local police have concentrated on the property angle and raised suspicion when they found a ‘will’ left by 92-year-old Gurcharan Kaur. The police found that Kaur had named the 1-kanal house in the name of K J Singh and his elder brother Vijay Pal Singh.
Missing car
If the missing car of K J Singh is found, it may be most vital clue. But since the night of murders, the police have failed to trace the Fork Ikon car — one of its big failures.
Family and friends
The police have questioned 70 people in the case so far. These include family members and former colleagues of K J Singh. The nephew of K J Singh, who found the body and informed the police, has been questioned over five times and for over two hours every time.