Faridabad serial killings: ‘Psycho killer’ sentenced to life for 2022 woman’s murder; involved in 5 other killings

FARIDABAD: A local court on Wednesday sentenced a 54-year-old man, described by police as a “psycho killer”, to life imprisonment for kidnapping and murdering a young woman in 2022. Additional sessions judge Purushottam Kumar also imposed a fine of over ₹2.1 lakh on the convict, Singh Raj, who police said has confessed to a total of six murders, including those of three minors, in Faridabad. According to police, the case dates back to January 2022, when a resident of Bhupani village lodged a missing complaint about her 20-year-old niece. During the probe, the woman’s remains were recovered on January 6, and Raj, a resident of Jasana village, was arrested the following day. During interrogation, Raj confessed to killing the woman and dumping her body on the banks of the Agra Canal, police said, adding that he also admitted to five other murders. A charge sheet was filed in the case on March 30, 2022. During the trial, 29 witnesses were examined. After hearing all sides, the court held Raj guilty on Tuesday and pronounced the sentence on Wednesday, a Faridabad police spokesperson said, noting that trials in the other cases are still pending. Police said Raj worked as a security guard at a private hospital in Sector 16 and had come under suspicion during investigations in other cases. Detailing the other crimes, police said Raj killed the daughter of a tea vendor in 2019 after molesting her and murdered a 12-year-old girl inside the hospital in August 2020 when she resisted an assault. In June 2021, he allegedly killed another minor girl employed as a cleaner at the same hospital. Raj has also confessed to killing his uncle and cousin, police added.