US returnee shot at in home, ex-wife's father arrested

A day after an non-resident Indian was shot at inside his house in Amritsar, the police on Sunday arrested five people, including the father of the victim's first wife, in connection with the incident.

Efforts are being made to nab the two criminals who shot at Sukhchain Singh, who recently returned from the US, and are on the run, they said.

The assailants intercepted Sukhchain Singh when he was leaving his house in Daburji village on the outskirts of Amritsar for a morning walk on Saturday.

They barged into his house and fired three shots at him before fleeing. Two of the bullets hit Sukhchain Singh -- one in the head and the other near the chest.

He is stated to be out of danger, according to police.

Addressing the media here, Amritsar police commissioner Ranjit Singh Dhillon said the attack on Sukhchain Singh was carried out at the behest of the family of his first wife.

His first wife had committed suicide in December 2022 and her family nursed a grudge against him, he said.

Two criminals, Sukhwinder alias Sukha and Gurkirat Singh alias Guri, were hired to kill Sukhchain Singh, police said.

"We are after the assailants," Dhillon said.

Those arrested are Sarwan Singh, the father of Sukhchain Singh's first wife and a resident of Bains village in Hoshiarpur; Jagjit Singh and Chamkaur Singh of Tarn Taran who helped the assailants before committing the crime; hotel owner Digambar Attri and hotel manager Abhilash Bhaskar who provided accommodation to the assailants without asking for ID proofs, the officer said.

The assailants stayed in Attri's hotel before and after committing the crime, according to police.

Dhillon said police have also booked US-based Sukhwinder Singh, Kuljinder Kaur and her husband Jasvir Singh.

Sukhwinder Singh and Kuljinder Kaur are the brother and sister of Sukhchain Singh's first wife respectively.

Sukhchain Singh was shot at in front of his wife, mother and his two children from his first marriage.

Footage retrieved from CCTV cameras installed inside the victim's house showed his wife, mother and children pleading with the assailants to let him go.

Special director general of police RN Dhoke (internal security) met Sukhchain Singh's family on Saturday.