Interpol issues Red Corner notice against UK-based accused

Wednesday, 03/08/2016

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JALANDHAR: An Interpol Red Corner notice has been issued against Baldev Singh Deol (62), the UK national accused in the May 2015 murder of NRI hotelier Ranjit Singh Power.

Power’s fellow non-resident Indian (NRI) Deol — born in Kohar Kalan village and belonging to Shekhewal in Jalandhar district — was already declared a proclaimed offender and is in England. Issued on the request of the police here, this Interpol notice is to seek the location and arrest of the accused with a view to extradition.

This comes as a step ahead for the red-faced police after a body sent from here as that of Power was discovered to not be his, after DNA samples of his mother did not match that of the body in the UK. As for the co-accused, Deol’s nephew Sukhdev of Manakpur village, he is in jail and murder charges have been framed against him on May 31.

Inspector Navdeep Singh said, “We have seen that the notice is up on the Interpol website.” HT checked and found the notice too on the site. Additional deputy commissioner of police (ADCP-II) Amrik Singh Powar said, “We are yet to receive any official communication but Ranjit Power’s family has informed us.” Navdeep, who is carrying out the investigation, said that with this all other 195 countries that come under the Interpol stand informed.

He said that despite the negative DNA report of the body sent to the UK, there is “sufficient” evidence against the accused to prove the murder charges. The police have submitted a statement of Narinder Singh, a taxi driver hired by Power when he landed at the Amritsar airport and travelled in his vehicle with Deol. Police have also procured immigration records of Power, besides his arrival and return tickets booked by the accused. They have records from the ‘serai’ (inn) at Golden Temple where Power and Baldev stayed, and also security camera footage.

It was on May 8 last year that Deol and Sukhdev picked Power from the airport in a Toyota Innova SUV and took him to the Golden Temple. Police say they made him get drunk and strangled him on the way. Later, they stripped the body and threw it into the Bhakra canal, says the case.

On June 1 last year, police fished out a partially decomposed body from a canal in Ambala, which it claimed was that of Power. The DNA of the body, however, didn’t match with that of victim’s mother in tests conducted by the UK authorities.