“Our thoughts go out to his wife and family, as well as his friends and colleagues, at this distressing time,” he said.
“This news will be difficult to process, and police are committed to finding answers of what has happened to Mr Singh and providing closure for his loved ones.”
Members of Dunedin's Indian community knew Gurjit Singh to be a friendly, hard working, and good guy.
A scene examination remains ongoing and investigation staff are continuing to make inquiries into Singh’s movements and interactions prior to his death.
Police welcome any information about activity in the Liberton and Pine Hill area especially around 10pm on Sunday, January 28.
Residents living in the area with road facing CCTV that may have captured footage of the night are urged to contact police. Anyone with information can contact police through 105 by making a report online at 105.police.govt.nz, clicking “Update Report” and quoting 240129/7479.
Singh was found dead on Monday, January 29 by a friend after his wife, whom he married in India about six months prior, expressed concern that she was unable to contact him.
Otago Punjabi Foundation Trust member Narindervir Singh said he had met Singh, a Chorus technician, at a bi-annual temple, and knew him to be a friendly, hard-working and “good guy”.
He had spoken to Singh’s father on Monday who was in shock at the news of his son’s unexplained death.
Narindervir Singh said Gurjit Singh had recently rented a house in that area, as his wife was planning to move to New Zealand from India and join him in the next month.
However, about two weeks ago, Narindervir Singh said Singh suspected somebody had tried to break in and his house, and had purchased security cameras due to his concerns of another potential break-in.
He did not get the chance to install them.
Narindervir Singh underscored that Singh had not been concerned for his personal safety, but rather the safety of his belongings.
“I have checked with his friends, they said he’d never had an argument or any ongoing issues with anyone. So he was not having any enemies,” he said.
A section of Hillary St in Pine Hill was cordoned off yesterday as investigators continued to inspect the scene of Gurjit Singh’s death. Photo / Peter Macintosh
“He was not having a fear for his life, he was having a fear that somebody will steal his hard-earned things.”
He said that, on Monday morning, a friend of Singh’s got a call from Singh’s wife in India that he was not answering his phone, and so he went to check on him at his house around 8.30am.
“As soon as he got out of his car, he was able to see from that small gate entrance that he was lying on the ground, and he was no more because he could see the open wounds,” said Narindervir Singh.
“This was pretty concerning to us because now it’s not like it will be dark at 8.30am - these days. It’s quite often light at 5.30am. At 8.30am it is broad daylight, and I’m wondering that no one passing from that area even bothered to look, or even if they have looked, they didn’t do anything.”
Narindervir Singh implored the public that if somebody had seen something, to come forward and assist the police in their investigation.
“A young man has been taken away from a family, a beloved wife who hasn’t started a life yet, she might have a lot of dreams and her partner has gone... If somebody knows something, please come forward and help the police.
Ben Tomsett is a Multimedia Journalist for the New Zealand Herald, based in Dunedin.
