- The court held that Malti’s possession of key evidence, her role in concealing the body, and her failure to explain Raminder’s disappearance clearly pointed to guilt
- However, the case did not meet the threshold for the rarest-of-rare category requiring capital punishment
- The judgment offers a measure of closure for Raminder’s family nearly a decade after his disappearance
A Ludhiana court has sentenced Jalandhar resident Malti Minhas to life imprisonment for the chilling 2016 murder of NRI Raminder Singh Cheema, whose disappearance had left his family searching for answers for months. Delivered by Additional Sessions Judge (Fast Track Court) Sandeep Singh Bajwa, the verdict also imposes a fine of ₹12,000 on the convict. Two co-accused — Paramjit Kaur and Inderjit Singh — were acquitted for lack of evidence.
The case dates back to January 2016, when Raminder, an NRI who had returned from the United States in 2007 and lived in Ludhiana since, told acquaintances he was heading to Delhi for a friend’s family event. When he failed to reach his destination or return home, his worried relatives lodged a missing-person report at Division No. 5 police station.
Investigators soon learned that Raminder shared close ties with Malti Minhas and her acquaintance Paramjit Kaur, both from Jalandhar. Statements from witnesses suggested the women were aware that Raminder had no legal heirs and allegedly viewed him as an easy target for financial exploitation
Police arrested Malti with ₹5 lakh in cash and a small quantity of narcotics. During interrogation, she reportedly confessed to befriending Raminder via social media and slowly gaining access to his personal and financial details. According to the prosecution, Malti and Paramjit visited Raminder’s Ludhiana flat on January 9, 2016, ostensibly to understand his assets. Four days later, Raminder was invited to a rented house in Khambra, where he was offered a drink allegedly laced with an intoxicant.
Once incapacitated, Raminder’s keys were taken, money was withdrawn using his ATM card, and a cheque amounting to over ₹5 lakh was encashed with help from Inderjit Singh, who allegedly received payment for facilitating the transaction. To conceal the crime, a labourer was hired to dig a pit outside the rented home, where Raminder’s body was buried. Meanwhile, messages were sent from his phone to maintain the illusion that he was alive.
