CHANDIGARH: The key accused and alleged mastermind in the murder of social media influencer Kanchan Kumari alias Kamal Kaur Bhabhi was deported from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and arrested by the Punjab Police upon his arrival at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi on Friday.
Sources said that the main accused, Amritpal Singh of Mehron village, was allegedly taken into custody in the UAE and then flown back to India. Upon his arrival, he was arrested by the Punjab Police.
A team of the Bathinda police, led by a DSP-rank officer, took custody of the accused from UAE authorities. Mehron had been detained by the Sharjah police in January this year during a visa-related inquiry, but deportation formalities took time to complete.
Mehron allegedly fled the country just hours after the crime, boarding a flight from Amritsar International Airport to the UAE on the morning of June 10, 2025, even before a lookout circular could be issued against him.
The Bathinda police later arrested two of his accomplices, while Mehron remained at large. A Bathinda court subsequently initiated proceedings to declare him a proclaimed offender, and efforts were made through central agencies and Interpol to secure his extradition.
Taking to X, Punjab DGP Gaurav Yadav wrote, “In a major breakthrough, @BathindaPolice, with the support of #OFTEC (Overseas Fugitive Tracking and Extradition Cell) under the Counter Intelligence Wing of Punjab Police, and Central Agencies apprehends fugitive Amritpal Singh Mehron, the main accused in the sensational murder of social media influencer Kanchan Kumari alias Kamal Bhabhi in June 2025 at Bathinda, following his deportation from the Middle East.”
“On 11.06.2025, the accused, along with three associates, abducted and murdered the victim and abandoned her body in a car parked at Adesh Hospital, #Bathinda. His accomplices have already been arrested in the case. After committing the crime, Amritpal fled the country to evade legal proceedings."
"Punjab Police, in close coordination with central agencies, traced his location to the Middle East and initiated extradition proceedings. He was subsequently detained and deported to #India, where he was arrested at Indira Gandhi International Airport, #Delhi, in the early hours of April 10, 2026,” he stated.
Yadav concluded, “Punjab Police reiterates its zero-tolerance policy against organised crime and anti-national elements, and remains steadfast in ensuring a safe and secure #Punjab.”
Earlier, police had said that Mehron, 30, a Moga resident and a self-styled radical Sikh leader, allegedly fled to the UAE after the killing of Kumari in June 2025. Police in Bathinda had issued a lookout circular against him.
The 30-year-old influencer, known on Instagram as “Kamal Kaur Bhabhi”, was found dead in an abandoned car in a hospital parking lot in Bathinda on June 11 last year.
Kumari was a resident of Ludhiana. On June 9, she had left home after informing her mother that she was heading to Bathinda for a promotional event. On June 11, her body was recovered from a car.
Earlier, three accused were arrested in connection with the murder. Of the three, Jaspreet Singh of Moga and Nimratjit Singh of Tarn Taran had said that they had killed Kumari for uploading “immoral and vulgar content that hurt the (Sikh) community’s sentiments”.
Sources said that two other accused in the case had already been arrested, and during their interrogation they reportedly revealed that Mehron, along with them, had been conducting reconnaissance for three months with the specific intent of murdering the influencer.
For several days, they had even stayed at a hotel located near Kumari’s residence. Mehron had also allegedly visited her home twice, but she was not present on either occasion. He then contacted her on June 8 and told her that she needed to travel to Bathinda to promote a car.
In a video that surfaced on social media after Kumari’s killing, Mehron was purportedly seen saying that the influencer was killed by two of his accomplices due to her “immoral and vulgar content” on social media. He had also allegedly warned others creating “objectionable content” to refrain from such activities.
Mehron was also accused of allegedly issuing threats to at least two other Punjab-based women social media influencers, police had said earlier.