MOGA, May 13: A 45-year-old woman was shot dead by her husband just hours after she warned police that he had threatened to kill her, raising serious questions about law enforcement response in a domestic violence case in Punjab’s Moga district.
The accused, Charanamrit Singh, allegedly shot his wife Mandeep Kaur at point-blank range on Tuesday morning using a licensed revolver. According to family members and local sources, Singh was intoxicated at the time of the shooting and had a long history of alcoholism and domestic abuse.
Police said the fatal incident occurred barely a day after Kaur had made a distress call to local authorities late Monday night.
She reportedly told officers that her husband was threatening to shoot her during a heated argument. Officers responded to the complaint but chose to counsel the couple instead of taking legal action. Crucially, they did not seize the revolver that Kaur had identified as a threat.
Out of fear, Kaur spent the night at a neighbour’s house.
When she returned to her home the next morning, Singh allegedly opened fire, killing her instantly.
Neighbours alerted police, who arrested the accused on the spot and recovered the murder weapon—the same revolver Kaur had warned about the night before.
“This is the same weapon she said he would use to kill her,” said a police source. “She had clearly expressed fear for her life.”
DSP Ravinder Singh confirmed the arrest and said that further legal steps would be taken after recording statements from the family. “We are proceeding as per the law and waiting for more input from the family of the deceased,” he said.
Kaur is survived by three children—two daughters and a son. One daughter lives in Amritsar while the others reside abroad.
Speaking to reporters, Jasbir Kaur, the victim’s sister-in-law, placed the blame squarely on the police. “If the police had done their duty and confiscated the revolver the night she called, this wouldn’t have happened,” she said. “She asked for help. They came and left her to die.”
The incident has sparked outrage in the local community and renewed calls for stricter enforcement of protective measures in domestic violence cases, particularly when firearms are involved.
