Ranjit Singh Power murder: Mystery body now with social services
A mystery man whose body was brought to the UK when he was mistaken for murdered Wolverhampton businessman Ranjit Singh Power has now been passed to the city's social services department for a funeral to be arranged.
The authorities in India repatriated the body thinking it was that of Mr Power, but DNA and dental records carried out in the UK did not match.
Det Con Zahid Ahmed, of West Midlands Police, said that although Mr Power had been officially identified by a close friend from Wolverhampton who flew out to India, DNA from Mr Power's toothbrush and dental records show he had a missing tooth didn't match those on the body.
Mr Power, 55, owned Ramada Park Hotel in Goldthorn Park, Wolverhampton. He had travelled to India on business on May 7 last year and was last seen at the airport in Amritsar the following day.
Det Con Ahmed said that, unusually, there had been no contact with his family on arrival, prompting them to call the Punjab police
Officers arrested a suspect, Subdev Singh, who is said to have confessed to Mr Power's murder and told police where he has disposed of the body.
The inquest heard that the body was among five pulled from a river on the same day. Det Con Ahmed said: "The family and West Midlands Police requested DNA testing on the body identifying it as Mr Power." But the body was repatriated without the tests.
He added: "Following tests in the UK, it was quite clear that the body was not that of Ranjit Singh Power, a conclusion also confirmed by a dental report. However, the Indian authorities still insist that the body flown to the UK is that of Mr Power."
Black Country coroner Zafar Siddique reached an open verdict, saying he cannot be sure how the man came to his death. A post mortem examination estimated the dead man's age as 50 plus, but was not able to ascertain the cause of death.
Mr Siddique said: "I have come very little in terms of formal ID and no family have come forward.
The Indian authorities believe it to be Mr Power, which is clearly not the case."
He said the body can't be repatriated back to India and would be referred to social services for a funeral, although the DNA would be retained in case of further inquiries.
