Panchkula-based realtor, his associate from Solan found dead in SUV near Nangal park

Had gone to pay obeisance at a dargah near Una in Himachal; police suspect both might have consumed some poisonous substance

Two male bodies of Gurcharan Singh and Ramesh Kumar found in the Endeavor SUV at Nangal in district Ropar on Thursday, April 14 2016. Express photo

Two male bodies of Gurcharan Singh and Ramesh Kumar found in the Endeavor SUV at Nangal in district Ropar. (Express photo)

Two property dealers were found dead under mysterious circumstances in Nangal, Ropar district of Punjab, on Thursday. Their bodies were recovered from an SUV parked near Capt Amol Kalia park, about 6 km from Bhakra Nangal dam.

The two deceased were identified as Gurcharan Singh, a resident of Nanakpura Khuwala village, Panchkula district; and Ramesh Kumar, a resident of Solan district in Himachal Pradesh. The Ford Endeavour in which both the bodies were recovered bears a Chandigarh registration number in the name of Gurcharan Singh, a resident of Sector 19-B. However, a visit to the given address revealed that Gurcharan had shifted from there two years ago.

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The preliminary investigation conducted by the Ropar police revealed that both might have consumed some poisonous substance. “When we recovered the bodies, there was some kind of froth emanating out of their mouths. It indicates that they might have consumed some poisonous substance. Whether they committed suicide or it was an accident or a murder, we are not yet sure,” one of the investigating police officers told Chandigarh Newsline.

However, family members of Ramesh cried foul and alleged that it was a murder.

Both the deceased were in their mid 40s and used to run a real-estate business in Chandigarh, Panchkula and parts of Himachal Pradesh. Their family members said that both had gone to pay obeisance at a dargah near Una in Himachal Pradesh on Thursday morning and were on their way back to Panchkula.

Speaking to Chandigarh Newsline over the phone, Ramesh’s cousin Praveen Kumar said, “We received a call from Ramesh’s mobile in the evening and a man told us that Ramesh and his friend seemed to be under influence of drugs. The caller informed us that the Ford Endeavour in which Ramesh and Gurcharan were travelling was parked near Capt Amol Kalia park in Nangal. The call got disconnected. We rushed towards the given location. On our way, we called back on Ramesh’s mobile phone several times, but nobody answered. When we reached the spot, police were already there. They informed us that Ramesh and Gurcharan were found dead.”

“We are not aware if Ramesh had any enmity with anybody, but we suspect that he was murdered,” Praveen added.

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A packet of parshad was also recovered from the vehicle. The police suspected that it might have contained some toxic substance.

“We have kept samples of the parshad and shall be sending these for chemical examination to ascertain if these contained any toxic substance. We are not ruling out the possibility of foul play. Both the bodies were sent to the civil hospital for post-mortem examination that shall be conducted tomorrow. We shall also be scrutinising the call details of the mobile phones of Ramesh and Gurcharan,” said Varinder Paul Singh, Senior Superintendent of Police, Ropar.

Police officials were in the process of recording statements of Ramesh and Gurcharan Singh’s family members till the filing of this report.

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