Television actress killed over extra-martial affair, husband and friend held

An actress from Punjab was allegedly killed by her husband and his friend in Uttarakhand's Nainital district after he suspected her of having an extra-marital affair, a senior police official said on Friday. Anita Singh, a 29-year-old TV actress from Punjab, was allegedly killed by her husband, Ravinder Pal Singh, Nainital Senior Superintendent of Police SK Meena said. Meena said her husband Ravinder Pal Singh and his friend Kuldeep had been arrested in this case. Ravinder Pal Singh and Anita had travelled to Nainital on January 30, covering a distance of nearly 600 km from Ferozepur in Punjab where they lived. Ravinder had told his wife that his friend Kuldeep would put her on his contacts who could help get her get acting assignments in Mumbai.

“The two then met Kuldeep at a local eatery, where he offered her tea laced with sedatives,” said Meena.“When she lost her senses, the two strangled her with a rope and burnt her body before fleeing from the spot at around 1.30 in the night. After the murder, Kuldeep went home (a short distance away in Kaladhungi) while Ravinder went to Delhi,” said Meena.It turned out that Ravinder Pal Singh had long suspected that his wife had an affair with a man from Kashmir. When Anita Singh told him that she wanted to move to Mumbai to work in movies, he conspired to murder her, the police alleged.

Meena said Ravinder Singh had planned the murder with Kuldeep and took her to Nainital, claiming that Kuldeep knew someone in Mumbai who could help her get work.When Nainital police found a charred body, it started scanning footage from CCTV cameras along the route to the spot where Anita Singh was found. Meena’s team located the owner of the car, Ramanjeet Singh. “He told us that on January 30, the car was borrowed by his brother-in-law and one of the accused, Kuldeep,” Meena said.Meena said Kuldeep was the first one to be arrested on Tuesday. Ravinder Singh was arrested from Haridwar on Wednesday.