Patiala shocker: Drug addict kills mother, chops body into 2; sets it on fire

Neighbours say the accused, Gurwinder Singh, who is his early 20s, committed the crime as his mother refused to give money for drugs. Patran station house officer Manpreet Singh said the accused and his two accomplices, who helped him in the murder, have been arrested.

A drug addict killed his mother with a sharp-edged weapon, cut her body into two before setting it on fire at his home at Kangthala village of Patran in Patiala district late on Saturday evening, said police.

Paramjit Kaur, the woman, who was killed by her son, a drug addict. (HT Photo)

Neighbours say the accused, Gurwinder Singh, who is his early 20s, committed the crime as his mother refused to give money for drugs.

Patran station house officer Manpreet Singh said the accused and his two accomplices, who helped him in the murder, have been arrested and a case under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) has been registered against them. Further investigation is on, he said.

The incident came to light when neighbours noticed a foul smell emanating from the house and informed the police.

The police have recovered the knife used in the crime. A forensic team was called to take samples from the house, said a police official.

Bhagwan Singh, maternal brother of the deceased, said Gurwinder killed Paramjit Kaur, a widow, and in a bid to hide the crime, he along with his accomplishes tried to burn the body by stacking pieces of wood and pouring kerosene over it.

It is suspected that the accused also killed his stepbrother, Jaswinder, who was reported missing, last week. The police recovered Jaswinder’s body from a canal and cremated it as no one claimed it.