The body of a 29-year-old Punjabi singer and makeup artist, Inder Kaur, also known as Yashinder Kaur, was recovered from the Sirhind Canal at Neelon on Tuesday morning, six days after she was allegedly abducted at gunpoint in Ludhiana.

The body of a 29-year-old Punjabi singer and makeup artist, Inder Kaur, also known as Yashinder Kaur, was recovered from the Sirhind Canal at Neelon in Ludhiana district on Tuesday morning. (File photo)

According to the victim’s family, the murder was orchestrated by a Canada-based man whose marriage proposal she had recently rejected.

Police recovered the body from the canal at 11am following a tip-off. It was subsequently identified by her family members and taken to the Ludhiana Civil Hospital for a post-mortem examination.

The victim’s family has named the primary suspect as Sukhwinder Singh, alias Sukha, a native of Moga currently residing in Canada.

According to the family, Inder Kaur, who had stepped away from singing five years ago to run a boutique and makeup studio, befriended Sukhwinder on Instagram about three years ago. While the family was aware of the acquaintance, relations soured after Inder Kaur discovered that Sukhwinder was already married with children. Following this disclosure, she refused to marry him or continue the relationship, which allegedly prompted the suspect to plot her murder.

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The victim’s brother, Jotinder Singh, said that Inder Kaur left their Jamalpur residence in a white Ford Figo at 6.30pm on May 13 to buy groceries but never returned.

During their private search, the family claimed to have learned that Sukhwinder, accompanied by his father, Pritam Singh, a friend named Karamjit Singh, and several unidentified accomplices, had intercepted and abducted her at gunpoint.

The family alleged that Sukhwinder travelled from Canada to Punjab via Nepal to execute the crime, hiring two taxis from Moga for the abduction.

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After allegedly killing Inder Kaur near the canal, the suspect reportedly fled back to Canada using the same transit route through Nepal.

Dalvir Singh, the station house officer (SHO) at Jamalpur police station, confirmed that a team despatched to the Sirhind Canal at Neelon recovered the body, which was later verified as the missing woman.

The SHO said that the investigation is underway, and police are verifying the specific allegations made by the family regarding the transit route, the vehicle tracking, and the individual roles of all suspects named in the complaint.