Tag: Australian citizen of Indian-origin Rajwinder Singh

An Australian citizen of Indian-origin, Rajwinder Singh, was arrested on Friday in Delhi for allegedly killing an Australian woman in Queensland in 2018. The investigators said that the accused killed the woman because her dog barked at him.

Rajwinder Singh killed Toyah Cordingley (24) when she was walking her dog on Wangetti Beach in Queensland in 2018 (Photo: File)

By India Today Web Desk: The investigation into the murder of an Australian woman who was allegedly killed by an Indian-origin man Rajwinder Singh has revealed that accused killed the victim because her dog barked at him. The deceased woman, identified as 24-year-old Toyah Cordingley, was walking with her dog at Wangetti beach, north of Cairns, in Queensland, investigators said.

Rajwinder Singh, a nurse by profession, had also gone to that beach and was carrying a knife and some fruits. He had left the house after a heated argument with his wife.

Cordingley’s dog barked at Singh, which infuriated him and led to a fight, the investigators said. Miffed that her dog barked at him, Singh, allegedly stabbed her multiple times, buried the body in the sand and tied the dog to a tree before returning home in Innisfail town, the Indian Express reported quoting investigators.

Singh, an Australian citizen of Indian-origin, had fled the country in 2018 and was carrying a reward of $1 million. On Friday, he was arrested from North Delhi’s GT Karnal Road and produced before a court for the extradition process.

“He was not in touch with his wife or kids. His parents live in Punjab but we have found that he was not in touch with them either. He was frequently changing his hideouts in Punjab and Delhi. He was in transit in North Delhi when our team arrested him. He changed his look to evade arrest. He is being questioned and produced before the court,” a police source told the Indian Express.

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By the time, Queensland police launched a manhunt to nab him he had fled the country by then. The Interpol had issued a Red Corner Notice against Singh (38) following which a non-bailable warrant was issued by the Patiala House Court on November 21 under the extradition act.

Delhi Police started looking out for him after receiving certain inputs from agencies. As per police sources, the accused came to India and started living in Punjab.

Singh was finally in police net after the investigators launched a door-to-door verification at his village. He was seen wearing a turban and sporting a beard.

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Police sources suspect that the accused came to India and started living in Punjab. “It was last year when the Australian Federal Police contacted the government and Queensland Police officers also came to India. There were inquiries conducted and we even started a door-to-door verification process at Singh’s village to find him,” said the source. When he was arrested, Singh was seen wearing a turban and sporting a beard.

After his arrest, Queensland Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll told the media: “Toyah was reported missing in October 2018 before her body was tragically discovered at Wangetti Beach, North of Cairns…The man (Singh) was believed to be avoiding apprehension in the Punjab region in India since travelling to the country on October 23, 2018… Even though it’s been four years, I am so pleased we can now make further progress in bringing closure to her family. It was never a question of if, only when this day would come.” (sic)

(With agency inputs)

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