Australia man 'orders' hit on father-in-law in Punjab; charged with attempt to murder

A man from the Australian city of Perth stands accused of planning a transnational murder attempt where he allegedly got his father-in-law attacked with a machete and shot in the head in Punjab last year, several media outlets reported.

As per the police, three men allegedly tried to kill the 42-year-old's father-in-law in Punjab's Kahlon village in February 2023. The gun, however, misfired, leaving the 65-year-old with a serious brain injury.

At the time, Punjab police had charged three people and suspected a fourth was involved as well. Western Australia police now allege that the fourth person was Shiv Sheetal who purportedly sought out people to carry out the killing. Detectives arrested Sheetal for the alleged murder this Wednesday.

Sheetal did not speak during his court appearance and his lawyer requested the matter be adjourned till next month in order to provide legal advice in the meantime.

Sheetal will now appear in court on July 24, with the Indian authorities making it clear that they won't be seeking an extradition.

The Guardian reported that Sheetal was arrested in June for breach of a family violence restraining order taken out by his ex-wife, and his father-in-law began receiving more death threats.

A little over a week after the attack, the Punjab police had put out on social media that they had nabbed a gang of alleged 'contract killers', saying the group "carried out a murderous assault on a senior citizen on the direction of a foreign-based conspirator."

The cops also added that they had recovered a pistol, four live cartridges and a knife from this gang.

In the wake of the attack the father-in-law also moved to West Australia where police and a family violence team began working with relatives as investigations into the matter started.