Ludhiana influencer's murder: Two accused sent to 14-day judicial remand
The accused, Nihangs, were produced in the court amid tight security.
The two associates of the alleged mastermind in the crime, Amritpal Singh Mehron, were arrested by the Bathinda police on June 13.
A local court granted their police custody for five days for questioning.
Police said that Kanchan was killed by the three due to 'unauthorised moral policing' as the accused claimed that digital content created by the deceased was immoral and hurt the sentiments of the Sikh community.
Bathinda senior superintendent of police (SSP) Amneet Kondal said on Wednesday that the district police would soon submit a report to the Bureau of Investigation (BoI) to process it further to Mehron's extradition from the UAE to face trial in the murder case.
'It is a complicated process, and we are still in the process of completing the required documents,' she said.
The SSP said that two mobile phones of the deceased, including an iPhone, and the passwords of the handsets were forcibly taken away from Kanchan before she was strangled.
'During the custodial interrogation, Jaspreet and Nimratjit feigned ignorance and we suspect that the two phones of the deceased are still in Mehron's possession,' she added.
Meanwhile, Bathinda-based lawyer Harpal Singh Khara, who is representing the arrested duo in the court, told reporters that video showing Mehron claiming responsibility for the murder could have been generated using artificial intelligence (AI).
'We suspect a conspiracy by agencies behind it. Mehron's family has approached me to represent him in the court,' said Khara, who was accompanied by Mehron's father Baljinder Singh.
Mehron, also a Nihang, flew to the UAE within hours of the murder of Kanchan on the intervening night of June 9-10.
As per the Bathinda police, Mehron boarded a UAE-bound flight from Amritsar airport at 9.15 am on June 10. The police learnt about the escape of Mehron after a lookout circular (LOC) was issued against him on June 14.
Kanchan's decomposed body was found by the police on the evening of June 11 after a few people spotted a foul was emanating from the vehicle abandoned at the parking of Adesh medical college and hospital at Bhucho town.
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