A 23-year-old Punjabi singer was found dead in Dera Bassi near Chandigarh, the police said here on Monday.
Navjot Singh’s body, bearing four to five bullet injury marks, was found few metres away from his car at village Rampur Sainian in Dera Bassi, Mohali, at around 1 am, said Inspector Mahinder Singh, police station (Dera Bassi).
Navjot, who had recently released two singles, was on his way home in Behra village.
The singer’s family, living in Mohali, was frantically searching for him after he did not reach home last night, the police said.
“Investigations are under way,” the Inspector said, adding, that a murder case has been registered in this regard and the body has been sent to the civil hospital for post-mortem.
Three-doctor panel that conducted the postmortem at the Dera Bassi civil hospital said Navjot was shot five times in the chest from close range. All five bullets passed through his body.
Police recovered shells of three .9mm cartridges and two live cartridges from near the body.
Dera Bassi station house officer (SHO) Mohinder Singh said, “The body has been kept in a mortuary. A murder case under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code has been registered.”
‘Called to say will be home in 5 minutes’
Navjot had left home to meet a friend in Panchkula around 4pm, saying that he would be back soon.
He called his mother at 11:15pm, enquiring about what was cooked for dinner and said he would be home in about five minutes.
“When he did not return, we called him repeatedly and then started looking for him,” said his father, Sukhdev Singh, an agriculturist.
The family found Navjot’s Nissan Micra car parked near a factory with the rear door open. His body was found nearby, following which police were informed.
Navjot is survived by his parents and a sister, who is married and stays in Fatehgarh Sahib.
Navjot had left education after Class 10 to pursue a career in singing. He had also rented a flat at Eco Towers in Kharar, where he used to practise music. For the past four years he had been struggling to make a mark in the Punjabi music industry and his album titled ‘Vakra Jatt’ was expected to release soon.
Police have ruled out loot as the motive behind Navjot’s murder.
The victim’s chain and gold kada were still on him when the body was recovered. His wallet, containing debit cards and ₹2,000, had also been left untouched besides his mobile phone.
Even extortion as the motive has been ruled out as Navjot was still struggling to make a mark in the music industry.
Navjot’s cousin, who is not willing to be named, told police that he had seen the victim driving towards McDonald’s on the Ambala road in Zirakpur with a woman sitting next to him around 6pm.
“We are probing various angles, including the involvement of a woman,” confirmed Dera Bassi assistant superintendent of police (ASP) Harmandeep Hans.
Meanwhile, Mohali senior superintendent of police (SSP) Kuldeep Singh Chahal said: “We are yet to ascertain the motive but initial investigations point towards personal reasons. We are quizzing five people who had met the victim on Sunday evening.”
