Cracking an eight-year-old homicide investigation, Alberta RCMP has charged two men with the first degree murder of Pirpal Singh Jhajj, 24, of Calgary in Chestermere on May 12, 2007, according to Alberta RCMP Media Relations Officer Corporal Hal Turnbull.
Sanjit Ranhu, 30, from Drumheller and Amaritpal Singh, 29, from Surrey, B.C., both face first degree murder charges. Ranhu has also been charged with two counts of discharging a firearm with the intent to endanger life.
“These arrests are as a result of several years of investigation, perseverance, attention to detail and team work between our various RCMP units,” Inspector Derek Williams, Officer in Charge of the Alberta RCMP Major Crime Unit said in a release issued on Sept. 11.
“There is no time limit on our homicide investigations when it comes to solving and bringing these matters to the Crown and court for prosecution.”
Turnbull said the RCMP’s Historical Homicide Unit (HHU) led the investigation into the case. The HHU is part of the RCMP’s Major Crime Unit and is responsible for investigating unsolved homicides across the country.
According to information printed in the Calgary Herald on Sept. 11, Jhajj’s murder took place sometime after midnight on May 12. He was fatally shot during a gunfight between two carloads of men that started in Chestermere’s Sunset Park and spread to the westbound lanes of Highway 1. There is no indication the murder was gang-related.
Ranhu was arrested in Drumheller and Singh in Surrey, according to Turnbull.
After their arrests, Ranhu and Singh were remanded into police custody where they remain pending their first appearance in court. Turnbull said information regarding when and where the two men will first appear in court is not yet available.
