New Delhi: A former serviceman accused of killing three people in random and unconnected murders was shot dead Monday during a crime-scene reconstruction exercise by Uttar Pradesh Police.
Police identified the accused as Gurpreet Singh, a 42-year-old resident of Punjab’s Tarn Taran who worked as a security guard in Bihar’s Ara district. Before working as a security guard, he worked as a sepoy with the Indian Army and was dismissed in 2021.
A police officer who did not wish to be named told ThePrint that Singh was caught while trying to flee after allegedly killing a patient, Lakshmina Devi from Bihar, who was about to be discharged from Jeevak Hospital’s orthopaedic ward in Alinagar on 10 May. He said Singh allegedly shot the woman in the temple at point-blank range with a licensed weapon.
Before hospital authorities could overpower the shooter, he allegedly fired another round and tried fleeing on a motorcycle after pushing aside the rider.
His escape was cut short when bystanders chased him, stopped his two-wheeler, and beat him until local police from the Alinagar police station arrived.
During initial questioning, police said Singh confessed that he had shot two other people in the past 16 hours: a passenger on the Tarighat passenger train on 9 May and another passenger on the Kolkata-Jammu Tawi Express a few hours later.
“Our investigation has revealed that there is no connection between the three murders. Gurpreet seemed to be mentally disturbed. He told us that he was frustrated and committed some random acts of violence,” Superintendent of Police (SP), Varanasi Range, Akash Patel told ThePrint.
Police said the accused had changed his identity and admitted himself to Alinagar’s Jeevak Hospital. “He told the staff his name was Virender and that he needed medical assistance. He then walked up to the orthopaedic ward and shot a patient named Lakshmina Devi, a resident of Bihar,” said a police official.
According to the police, the accused left his hometown on 29 April for Bihar’s Ara and, on 9 May, he reached the Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya (PDDU) Junction in Chandauli.
Singh boarded the Tarighat passenger train, where he had an argument with a passenger and shot him in a rage, SP (Government Railway Police) Prashant Verma told ThePrint.
“Eyewitnesses said that the accused then threw Magru’s body on the track and fled from the train when it slowed down near Sakaldiha station,” Verma said.
However, before the police could trace him, Singh allegedly boarded the Kolkata-Jammu Tawi Express train, where he allegedly shot another fellow passenger, Dinesh Shah, around 1:32 am near the train’s washroom. Shah was on his way to Naimisharanya Dham in UP’s Sitapur with his sister, her children and his mother-in-law, the police said.
The sounds of the gunshot alerted people in the coach. The 42-year-old Shah’s body was later brought down at the Varanasi station around 2:42 am, Verma said.
“He was then seen on CCTV leaving the station area and walking on foot,” the officer said.
The accused then walked over five kilometres to Jeevak Hospital early, where he allegedly shot his third victim, Lakshmina Devi.
During initial interrogation, the accused allegedly confessed to the two murders. Police then took him to the PDDU Junction and the spot near Sakaldiha where the first victim’s body was found to recreate the crime scene. “The accused suddenly snatched an officer’s pistol and started firing at the team,” said Patel.
Police said the accused fired a second round when the police were conducting a search operation after he fled the spot. “After the second round of firing, the team fired in self-defence, and Gurpreet was shot in his chest,” said Patel.
The accused’s body has been sent for post-mortem, and authorities have contacted the Punjab police for details of his family, he added. The police had earlier seized a revolver and a sawed-off double-barreled gun from the Singh’s possession.
(Edited by Sugita Katyal)