Punjab and Haryana High Court Clears NRI After Missing Daughter Found Alive in Canada

A 68-year-old non-resident Indian (NRI) from Punjab's Ludhiana district has been cleared of allegations that he murdered his daughter after authorities established that she is alive and currently residing in Canada. The development came through an order passed earlier this month by the Punjab and Haryana High Court, bringing a significant turn in a case that has remained the subject of legal and family disputes for more than a decade.

Balbir Singh, a German citizen originally from Bhattian village in Ludhiana, had already been acquitted in 2025 in a separate case concerning the alleged murder of his first wife, Harpal Kaur, who has remained untraceable since January 2013. The court in that case ruled that the prosecution failed to prove the charges against him beyond reasonable doubt. Despite the acquittal, Harpal's family has continued to maintain that Balbir was responsible for her disappearance.

The case dates back to January 2013 when Balbir travelled to India to attend his father's last rites. During his visit, his daughter Devinder Kaur, then 27, was reported missing on January 25, while his wife Harpal Kaur disappeared four days later. Balbir returned to Germany on January 31. A few weeks later, Harpal's father and brother filed a police complaint accusing Balbir and others of murdering her and disposing of her body, allegations that led to a lengthy criminal investigation and trial.

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According to the complaint, tensions had allegedly emerged within the family after Balbir entered into a second marriage. Harpal's relatives also claimed that Devinder had disappeared under suspicious circumstances following a marriage arranged in 2012. In 2024, the family approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court seeking action against Balbir for Devinder's alleged murder as well, arguing that her whereabouts had remained unknown for more than a decade.

However, investigations eventually revealed that Devinder Kaur was alive and residing in Canada, leading to the collapse of the murder allegations related to her disappearance. The finding significantly weakened claims that she had been killed and resulted in the court clearing Balbir of the second murder accusation. The decision marked a major development in a case that had generated extensive legal proceedings and family conflict over the years.

Throughout the proceedings, Balbir maintained that he had been falsely implicated and argued that the allegations were linked to a property dispute involving his agricultural land and family home in Bhattian village. The trial court, while acquitting him in the case related to Harpal Kaur, noted the absence of a recovered body and the lack of direct evidence linking him to any crime. While the mystery surrounding Harpal Kaur's disappearance remains unresolved, the latest court findings have effectively ended the allegations concerning the supposed murder of his daughter.

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