A woman in Punjab, India, along with two village officials, tried to fraudulently obtain a death certificate for her husband living in the US for 27 years to transfer his land ownership.
Jalandhar: A case of attempted fraud has come to light in Jalandhar district in Punjab, where a woman and two village officials have been booked for trying to obtain a false death certificate for her husband, who has been living in the US for 27 years.
Kuldeep Singh, a resident of Naugaja village, had migrated to the US via the 'dunki route' in 1998 and never returned to India due to his inability to obtain permanent residency. His wife, Kamaljit Kaur, and their two sons, Gurjit Singh and Maninder Singh, have also emigrated to the US and the Philippines, respectively.
In March 2025, Kamaljit Kaur returned from the US and attempted to transfer ownership of Kuldeep's plots in Naugaja village and Pathankot bypass by claiming he had died. She, along with village sarpanch Suman and panchayat member Sukhdev Singh, submitted false self-declarations stating that Kuldeep had died on March 25, 2010, and was cremated in the village cremation ground.
Related Articles
However, Kuldeep Singh came to know of the plot and sent a video from the US, which was handed over to the police by his nephew, Sanveer Singh.
“My aunt, Kamaljit Kaur, was initially living with her brother in Phagwara, and in 2023-24 she went to the US. My uncle has two plots, one in Naugaja village and the other at Pathankot bypass.
In March 2025, my aunt returned from the US and she prepared a false document for the transfer of ownership of the plot situated in Naugaja village, by claiming that that my uncle, Kuldeep Singh, had died,” Sanveer said in his complaint.
The video confirmed that Kuldeep was alive, and prominent villagers also verified his identity. Following an inquiry, the police registered a First Information Report (FIR) on May 12 against Kamaljit Kaur, Suman, and Sukhdev Singh under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for criminal conspiracy, forgery, and cheating.
