Suspect in Toyah Cordingley case arrested in India four years later over alleged murder on Cairns beach

Toyah Cordingley's body was found on a beach after she took her dog for a walk. Photo / Facebook Supplied

The prime suspect in the murder of a woman on an Australian beach four years ago had been arrested in New Delhi three weeks after he was targeted with a A$1 million reward, Australian authorities said on Friday.

Indian national Rajwinder Singh, 38, flew from Sydney to his homeland the day after 24-year-old Australian Toyah Cordingley’s body was found on the Queensland state coast on October 22, 2018.

Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus said Singh had been arrested on Friday following Australia’s extradition request to India.

“This matter is a high priority for the Australian government and Australian agencies continue to work closely with Indian authorities to pursue Mr Singh’s extradition to Australia, to enable him to face justice,” Dreyfus said in a statement.

Dreyfus said it was not appropriate for him to comment further because the matter was before the Indian courts.

Australia had applied for Singh’s extradition for murder in March last year but he could not be found.

Toyah Cordingley's body was found at Wangetti Beach, Queensland, on October 22, 2018. Photo / Facebook Supplied

The Queensland government on November 3 offered the largest reward in the state’s history for information about Singh.

The reward was unique in that it did not seek a clue that solves a crime and leads to a successful prosecution. Instead, the money is offered for information that leads only to a suspect’s location and arrest.

Indian police arrested Singh on the same day they received information about his whereabouts, Australian Federal Police said in a statement.

It is not clear whether the reward would be collected.

Singh was “believed to be avoiding apprehension in the Punjab region in India since travelling to the country” in 2018, Australian police said.

Rajwinder Singh, 38, was the main suspect and fled Australia just days after Toyah Cordingley was allegedly murdered in Cairns. Photo / Queensland Police Service

Queensland police officers had travelled to India in late October and early November to work with Australian Federal Police posted in New Delhi to share information on Singh with Indian law enforcement.

Singh was employed as a nurse at Innisfail, a town south of the major city of Cairns, when Cordingley was murdered on Wangetti Beach, north of Cairns, on October 21, 2018.

She had gone to the beach to walk her dog.

The Indian Embassy in Australia could not immediately comment on the case.