An Indian man has been detained in connection with the murder of a young woman who was discovered dead on a beach in tropical northern Australia four years ago.
He will then be brought to Australia to face criminal proceedings.
“It was never a question of if, but when this day would come,” Queensland police commissioner Katarina Carroll said. “I am very confident we have a strong case to put before the courts.”
Mr Singh, who was working as a nurse, left behind his job, wife and their three children when he fled Australia hours after Toyah’s body was discovered. He was pictured at Sydney’s international airport
Detectives have offered few details about how Toyah died. She had gone to Wangetti Beach, between the popular tourist hotspots of Cairns and Port Douglas, to walk her dog on 21 October 2018, but never came home. Her body was discovered by her father the next day, half buried in sand dunes.
It’s reported that, earlier this month Australian authorities appealed for the public’s help in an international hunt to find Mr Singh.
Originally from Buttar Kalan in the Indian state of Punjab, at the time of the killing he was living in Innisfail, about two hours from the crime scene.
Commissioner Carroll said she understood Mr Singh had been avoiding arrest in Punjab since he fled.
The Australian government sought an extradition order in March 2021 – something Indian officials agreed to last month. But they had been unable to locate the 38-year-old until now.
A detective from Queensland police has recently returned from India and Australian media report that five Queensland police officers who speak Hindi and Punjabi have been receiving information via WhatsApp.
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