'Got What He Deserved': Woman's Death Led To Killing Of Man In Manchester Woods: Affidavit

TOMS RIVER, NJ — A man whose body was found in the woods in Manchester in December was killed in retaliation for the death of a woman, according to statements from the suspects arrested in the case.

Four of the men charged in the killing of Kuldeep Kumar, 35, of India — Nirmal Singh, 30, Gaurav Singh, 27, Gurdeep Singh, 22, and Sourav Kumar, 23, all of Greenwood, Indiana — have been ordered held in the Ocean County Jail following a detention hearing Thursday before Superior Court Judge Wendel E. Daniels, the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office said. The four were arrested Dec. 20 and extradited from Indiana on Jan. 26.

All four are charged with murder and conspiracy to commit murder in the slaying of Kuldeep Kumar, 35, of India.

A fifth man charged, Sandeep Kumar, was charged Jan. 3 with murder and conspiracy to commit murder. He also has been ordered held until trial.

The body of Kuldeep Kumar was found Dec. 14 in the Greenwood Wildlife Management Area off Pasadena Road in Manchester by an off-duty police officer who was preparing to go hunting, according to the probable cause affidavit filed in the case.

The body was clad in a shirt, pants and flip-flops and in an advanced state of decomposition. Four 9mm shell casings were found nearby. An autopsy determined Kuldeep died from multiple gunshot wounds to the chest.

Investigators found a fifth 9mm shell casing, four teeth and an Apple Airpods case with one earpiece in it nearby. The name it was registered under is a slogan associated with a violent criminal organization in India, the “Lawrence Bishnoi gang,” authorities said.

The Bishnoi Gang operates in India, Canada and the U.S. and "is known to conduct violent extortions, murder-for-hire, narcotics trafficking and financial scams” targeting people in India, authorities said. "Extortion victims in the US are primarily individuals of South Asian descent and frequently small business owners who face retribution if they refuse to comply with extortion demands.”

It’s not clear from the affidavit who among those involved is suspected of being part of the Bishnoi Gang.

Kuldeep was identified by his fingerprints. He had been detained in Tucson, Arizona, in December 2023 for illegal entry into the United States but had applied for asylum, and was scheduled for an asylum hearing in New York the day after he disappeared, the affidavit said.

Authorities say he was killed on or about Oct. 22 over the death of the sister of Sourav Kumar.

“Your brother got what he deserved”

According to the probable cause affidavit, Kuldeep Kumar had been living in Maine and was staying in New York City with a cousin on Oct. 22 to attend an immigration asylum meeting on Oct. 23. He had told immigration authorities he feared for his life and was at risk of persecution.

While he was with his cousin, he received a phone call from Sandeep asking him to come outside to talk to him. The cousin last saw Kuldeep getting into a white car that night.

When Kuldeep didn’t return on Oct. 22, the cousin tried to file a missing person’s report, but New York City police told the cousin it had to be a direct relative filing the report. Kuldeep’s brother then flew to New York and filed the report on Oct. 26, according to the affidavit.

In the meantime, Kuldeep’s family was receiving threats, telling them to not get the police involved and later to call and say Kuldeep had turned up safe, according to the affidavit.

At least one call was from Sourav Kumar and Gaurav Singh, who were Kuldeep’s nephews. The two later told authorities that Kuldeep had committed crimes against Sourav’s sister, though the nature of those alleged crimes is never addressed.

On Nov. 1, Sourav and Gaurav called Kuldeep’s brother and said, “Your brother got what he deserved,” and threatened to go after the rest of the family if it was reported to the police.

"If we can kill one, we can kill more people," the two said in a conversation that was recorded on video and later turned over to the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office, authorities said.

They also told Kuldeep’s brother:

• “Don’t take your brother's bad deeds on yourself; he got what he deserved;
• “If you get involved in this you will be responsible for anything that happens to you, your wife, your child. We can kill you too;
• “If we get arrested, (there will be) revenge by others.”

The killing of Kuldeep

The affidavit does not say when Sourav Kumar, Gaurav, Nirmal and Gurdeep arrived in New Jersey.

It does say that at some point before Oct. 22, Sourav called a friend in South Jersey and asked to borrow his car to take a girl on a date, and on Oct. 22 traveled to Vineland to pick up the car.

In reality, he wanted the car to go to Kuldeep. Sourav was angry because he had called Kuldeep about the issue of his sister’s death, and Kuldeep hung up on him and blocked his number, according to the affidavit.

From Vineland Sourav picked up Nirmal and Gurdeep, then the four picked up Sandeep. When they got to the apartment building where Kuldeep’s cousin lived, Sourav made Sandeep call Kuldeep to lure him out of the building and to the car.

Sandeep is a relative of Kuldeep's wife, but the exact relationship was not detailed in the affidavit.
Kuldeep’s wife, who lives in India, later called the cousin and told the cousin she had Facetimed with Kuldeep and Sandeep while they were in the car.

Who shot Kuldeep?

The statements from Sandeep, Sourav, Gaurav, Nirmal and Gurdeep differ on what happened next.

Sandeep's statement

Sandeep — who initially contacted authorities a few days after the killing — told authorities in an interview on Dec. 17 that Sourav left him in a park in New York, and again threatened to harm his family if he told authorities anything. He told authorities that Sourav told him Kuldeep was gone and not returning. He repeatedly denied having any knowledge of what happened to Kuldeep after getting out of the car in interviews with authorities and in phone conversations with Kuldeep's brother, cousin and to a jail inmate that Sandeep called multiple times.

Sourav's statement

Sourav told authorities that he, Sandeep, Gurdeep, Nirmal and Kuldeep were in the car, and on the drive the four men were threatening Kuldeep, demanding he admit to crimes against Sourav's sister. The affidavit does not specify what the alleged crimes were, but it says Sourav’s sister had died.

Sourav and Nirmal claimed that Kuldeep admitted to the unspecified crimes, and told them to punish him as they saw fit. Gurdeep claimed Kuldeep said he would take his own life and blame Sourav for it, and that Kuldeep taunted Sourav with photos of his dead sister.

Once they arrived in Manchester, Sourav said he, Sandeep and Kuldeep got out of the car and that he ordered Sandeep to kill Kuldeep, according to the affidavit. Sandeep walked deeper into the woods with Kuldeep and Sourav heard gunshots.

Sourav said he then drove north. He said he stopped at some point near Hightstown and Sandeep got out and took a taxi back to New York. In Hightstown, however, Sourav was pulled over and received two traffic tickets. Bodycam footage showed him and Nirmal and Gurdeep in the car, and Sourav later identified the two men to authorities during the investigation.

Sourav told authorities he bought the gun but gave it to Sandeep to keep after the shooting.

Nirmal's statement

Nirmal claimed Sourav and Gurdeep got out of the car with Kuldeep and walked into the woods. Nirmal heard gunshots and only Sourav and Gurdeep returned. He said Sandeep was with them until getting out to take a taxi back to New York.

Gurdeep's statement

Gurdeep told authorities that Sandeep was left at a park in New York and that he, Nirmal and Sourav drove with Kuldeep to Manchester. Gurdeep said Sourav was carrying a handgun. When they arrived in Manchester, Gurdeep said he, Nirmal and Sourav got out of the car along with Kuldeep and began walking into the woods. Once in the woods, Gurdeep said, Sourav shot Kuldeep two to three times, then the men got spooked and ran back to the car and took off. Gurdeep told the authorities that when they were stopped by Hightstown Police, he thought they had been caught. A few days later they all went back to Indiana, and Sourav told Gurdeep he had thrown the gun off a bridge, but didn’t say where.

Authorities traced the group to Greenwood, Indiana, based on the address listed for Gaurav connected to his cell phone. A search of the residence where they lived turned up mail addressed to Sourav at that address, and all four were taken into custody.

Previous coverage:

• Body In 'Advanced Decomposition' Found In Manchester Wildlife Area
• 4 Charged In Slaying Of Man Found Dead In Manchester Woods
• 5th Person Charged In Death Of Man Found In Manchester Woods
• Defendant Ordered Held In Slaying Of Man Found In Manchester Woods