A decade after the murder of an IBM software engineer in Bengaluru sent shockwaves across the city, a court has convicted the accused and sentenced him to life imprisonment, bringing closure to a case that highlighted the risks of trusting strangers on social media.
The victim, Kusum Rani Singla, was found murdered inside her rented apartment in Brindavan Layout on January 19, 2016. Investigators later uncovered a meticulously planned crime that began with a Facebook friend request.
Friendship began with a New Year message
According to the police, Sukhbeer Singh, then an unemployed software engineer, allegedly sent New Year greetings and Facebook friend requests to several women in search of a wealthy partner. Kusum accepted his request on January 8, 2016, and the two began communicating online.
Police said Singh travelled from Delhi to Bengaluru on January 19 to meet Kusum at her apartment. During the meeting, he allegedly demanded financial assistance. When she refused and threatened to raise an alarm, he allegedly strangled her using a laptop charging cable.
Investigators said he later fled with her mobile phone, ATM cards and other belongings before withdrawing money from her bank account and returning to Delhi.
Technology helped crack the case
With no eyewitnesses, Bengaluru Police relied on digital and forensic evidence to solve the murder within 48 hours.
Investigators analysed call records, apartment visitor registers, CCTV footage, ATM transactions, flight bookings and mobile phone data, eventually tracing the accused to a village in Haryana, nearly 2,000 kilometres away. A police team arrested him and brought him back to Bengaluru.
The evidence presented during the trial established a complete chain of circumstances linking the accused to the crime.
Court awards life imprisonment
The Principal District and Sessions Court recently convicted Sukhbeer Singh and sentenced him to rigorous life imprisonment. The court relied on circumstantial evidence, CCTV footage and the “last seen” theory while delivering the verdict.
Police say the case remains a reminder of the importance of exercising caution while interacting with strangers on social media. They have advised people to verify identities and, if meeting someone known only online, to choose public places and inform family or friends beforehand.