Kathua blind murder case solved, accused arrested: Police

Jammu, May 19: Police in Kathua stated to have solved a blind murder case of a contractor, with the arrest of the accused within 4 days.

The police also seized the weapon of offence used in commission of crime, which took place during the intervening night of May 15 and 16, 2026. 

The accused – a labourer working with the victim had some outstanding payment dispute with him (victim), was apprehended from Kangra in Himachal Pradesh on Tuesday, May 19, morning.

“During the intervening night of May 15 and 16, 2026, Police Station Lakhanpur received information regarding the death of a person at village Dhanna in a firing incident. The deceased was identified as Roop Singh, a resident of Dhanna, who was working as a contractor. Acting promptly on the information, FIR No 51/2026 was registered at Police Station Lakhanpur under Section 103 BNS and Sections 3/25 of the Arms Act,” Police said.

Considering the seriousness of the offence, the investigation was immediately taken up under the close supervision of senior officers.

Police said that a special investigation team led by DySP DAR Bhagwan Das Dandiya along with SHO Lakhanpur Neeraj Chaudhary was constituted and the case was monitored closely to ensure that no lead was overlooked. Police teams inspected the crime scene, collected technical and scientific evidence and conducted extensive questioning and verification in the surrounding area.

“During the course of investigation, several suspicious individuals were examined. It emerged that one individual, identified as Sardar Singh, son of Hari Singh, resident of Tridwan, tehsil and district Kathua, had gone missing after the incident without informing his family members, which raised strong suspicion against him,” police said.

Preliminary investigation and interrogation revealed that the accused had been working as a labourer for the deceased and had an outstanding payment of approximately Rs 6,000 pending against him.

A dispute over this payment had been ongoing and due to anger and resentment arising on account of the issue, the accused allegedly planned the murder.

During the intervening night of May 15 and 16, 2026, he reportedly took his father’s 12-bore gun, went to the house of the deceased and shot Roop Singh while he was sleeping near a window.

After committing the crime, he returned home and upon noticing increased police activity in the area the following morning, fled in an attempt to avoid suspicion.

Immediately after the incident, multiple police teams were constituted to trace and apprehend the accused. “Continuous raids and search operations were carried out across various districts of Jammu and Kashmir and potential hideouts in neighboring states were also checked. Technical inputs, local intelligence, and other investigative leads were continuously analyzed. Coordination was maintained with neighboring state police agencies, including Himachal Pradesh Police, throughout the operation,” Police said.

As a result of sustained efforts, meticulous investigation and effective inter-state coordination, the accused was successfully traced and apprehended on the morning of May 19, 2026 at around 7 am from Sansarpur Terrace, district Kangra, Himachal Pradesh, after four days of continuous efforts.

During interrogation, the accused confessed to his involvement in the crime and disclosed the sequence of events leading to the murder. Based on his disclosure, the recovery of the weapon used in the offence was also confirmed.

“Further investigation in the case is ongoing and strict legal action will be taken against the accused in accordance with the law,” police said.