Melbourne: Australia's Queensland Police has announced a record one-million-dollar reward for the public to catch an Indian nurse who fled to India after allegedly murdering an Australian woman on a beach four years ago in 2018.
Toyah Cordingley, 24, was walking her dog on Wangetti Beach, 40km north of Cairns when she was killed in October 2018, Australia's 7news.com reported today.
Rajwinder Singh, 38, who worked as a nurse in Innisfail, is the key person of interest in the case but fled the country two days after Cordingley was killed, leaving behind his job, wife and three children in Australia, the report added.
Australia's Queensland Police has announced a reward of 1 million Australian dollars (Rs 5.2 crores) for the arrest of the Indian youth who killed the Australian woman and escaped to India. The reward for finding Rajwinder is the largest ever offered by Queensland Police.
Anyone with information regarding the case or the whereabouts of Rajwinder Singh is urged to contact Queensland Police through the online portal (https://t.co/dWGfIYaKbX). In addition, anyone in Australia with information can call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000. pic.twitter.com/vd3e1W1SM7
— Queensland Police (@QldPolice) November 2, 2022
Those in Australia can contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 and those in India can report through the Queensland Police online portal at http://police.qld.gov.au/reporting.
His family told how he had flown to his hometown of Amritsar in Punjab, India on the day Toya's body was found seven weeks ago. Mr Singh's brother Harpreet Singh told Cairns Post that they had listed him as a missing person and he was believed to be living in a village near Anupgarh, on the far north-west Pakistan/India border. The police told us that there is no evidence that Raj killed her, but he is a person of interest in the case, “He was very calm and scared. He was under a lot of stress from his job. “But if he says he is guilty, we don't see any evidence to prove it yet. "
The Indian nurse was disturbed by treating elderly patients who were dying in the hospital. So he would disappear from home for days at a time – on deserted tropical beaches – and spend hours on end. He stopped talking. But Singh said it was a coincidence that he went missing on the day Toya was killed, booking a flight to India and arriving at Wangeti Beach, 40 km north of Cairns. “He would always go to the beach, he would go to the beaches here or north of Cairns. He was mentally disturbed and wanted to leave here. Singh said his brother disappeared a week before Toya's murder. Home without contact, worried about the missing person.
Rajwinder Singh is believed to have escaped from Innisfail to India. Rajwinder Singh was behaving strangely before he disappeared abroad the day after Toyah Cordingley was killed. But he is not responsible for her death, his family says. Indian nurse's family says he is 'incapable of murder'.
According to the report, the 24-year-old pharmacy assistant Toyah Cordingley was killed while walking her dog on Wangti Beach around 2.30pm on Sunday. Her father Troy saw, tied up the dog and her body was found "with visible and violent injuries" buried in the soil next day. The police found the mobile phone of the Indian nurse from the premises and it can be understood that he was identified because he was found in suspicious behavior.
His car was seen on CCTV security cameras driving erratically in Cairns after the murder scene. The car was impounded hours later. But he is suspected to have returned and booked an international flight back to home. Forensic police have worked to take a DNA sample from Toyah's body - police believe the left scratch and the attack marks on her brain could help identify her killer.
Four weeks ago, a police task force raided the family home in Innisfail. Personal items related to the crime were also seized. The Indian community in there, has many multi-generational Sikh families, and the latest incident has shaken the community deeply as some rallied in support of their wives and children. “ We live in a small community, “ How can we live with this doubt when we have no answers? ” said Mr. Singh.
Whatever the case may be, with Rajwinder Singh still under suspicion, Queensland homicide detectives and the Australian Federal Police are working with Indian law enforcement to track down Rajwinder Singh.
📚READ ALSO:
🔘IRELAND JOB: Work At Your Convenience | Easy Registration | Calling all Decision Letter Holders
🔘PAKISTAN: Emran released a picture of the violent who shot Khan; Indication that two gunmen
