Punjab Man Shoots Wife, Mother-In-Law, Kills Self As Cops Demand Surrender

An ex-serviceman posted as a jail guard in Punjab's Gurdaspur shot dead his wife and mother-in-law in the early hours of Wednesday before killing himself, using his government-issued AK-47 rifle. 

The attack, triggered by an ongoing domestic dispute, took place around 3:00 am.

Police said Gurpreet Singh first opened fire on his wife, Akvinder Kaur, and then on her mother, Gurjeet Kaur. After the double murder, he fled the spot and hid in the residential quarters of Scheme Number 7 in Gurdaspur.

When the police attempted to arrest him, he threatened the officers, saying he would shoot himself. The police spent about an hour appealing to him to surrender, but instead of giving up, the accused shot himself and ended his life.

While addressing the reporters, Gurdaspur Senior Superintendent of Police Aditya said, "Gurpreet Singh was posted at the Central Jail, Gurdaspur, and was issued a government AK-47 rifle for his duty. At approximately 3:00 am last night, due to a domestic dispute, Gurpreet used the rifle to shoot his wife, Akvinder Kaur, and his mother-in-law, Gurjeet Kaur. Following the double murder, he fled and hid in residential quarters in Scheme Number 7 in Gurdaspur."

He added, "A police team quickly surrounded the area and made appeals for him to surrender. However, Gurpreet refused to comply and instead shot himself. We are investigating the matter."

The victims' family member said the couple had been facing marital issues for years. Parminder Kaur, sister of Akvinder Kaur, said the two were married in 2016 and had frequent arguments. She alleged that Gurpreet mentally tortured her sister and had been threatening her.

"They got married in 2016. He is a psycho-type. He mentally tortured my sister. We had filed a police complaint," she said. 

After her brother's death in 2020, her mother had brought Akvinder home to stay with her. Parminder said Gurpreet continued to harass and threaten her sister even after she moved in with her mother. "He kept calling and threatening her that he would kill her. But she said, 'When I am sitting at home, how will he kill me?' But we didn't know that he would do such a thing." 

Describing the attack, she added, "He came at 3:00 am and called my sister. When she opened the door, he shot her twice... He shot my mother too."