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Amandeep’s friends shocked, saddened
Saturday, January 26, 2013 • Murray Robertson
POLICE investigating the suspected murder of Indian man Amandeep Singh say they hope to have a formal identification complete on Monday of the body found at the end of Kaiti Beach Road.

The body of a man believed to be that of Mr Singh was found by people walking along the disused end of Kaiti Beach Road on Thursday evening.

It was found in scrub and small trees at the base of Kaiti Hill — only a few metres from the old road.

Police have not yet been able to confirm if the remains are definitely that of the missing 22-year-old.

That confirmation will follow a post-mortem in Auckland on Monday.

A spokeswoman for the inquiry says police hope to conclude their scene examination at Kaiti Beach some time today.

ESR scientists from Auckland are helping with the investigation.

A spokesman for the orchard labour contracting firm Mr Singh worked for — his friend and flatmate who prefers not to be named at this stage — says the news that Mr Singh appears to have been killed has deeply shocked, saddened and worried them.

“It is really, really sad.”

“How is this possible?”

“You should not kill anyone.”

“We had all hoped that Amandeep might have just been kidnapped, that he would still be alive, and we were all prepared to make contributions to any ransom demand made.

“We are all worried that something like this could happen to us, because we don’t know the reason why this has happened to Amandeep.”

Amandeep was just a young man who had just finished the studies he was doing as part of his student visa, and was looking for a permanent job, the man said.

“We all prayed for him while he was missing and now we are all still praying for him.”

He has been told that Mr Singh’s parents in India had decided not to come to Gisborne now.

“His cousin from Australia is due in Gisborne in four or five days, along with one of the cousin’s close friends from Auckland.”

Eastern district police crime manager Detective Inspector Rob Jones says police would like to speak to anyone who has had dealings with Mr Singh in recent times, who knows anything about his death.

“We would also like to hear from anyone who noticed suspicious activity in Kaiti Beach Road since the end of last year.”

Mr Singh disappeared on the night of December 29.

Det Insp Jones says police believe there are people in the community who will have information about him, and possibly how he died.

“He was very well known in the community and had lots of acquaintances.”

“It’s very important that we speak to anyone who can shed some light on his disappearance.”

■ District councillor Manu Caddie has set up an appeal to assist Amandeep Singh’s family with their expenses and is hoping it will be supported by the community.

“We understand his family are not wealthy and we want to show them that the Gisborne community is upset at what has happened.

“Gisborne people are very disturbed by this situation and I’m sure many residents, perhaps even people from other parts of New Zealand, will want to show their love and concern to his family in India.”

Ka Pai Kaiti Trust has agreed to administer the donations and pass them on to the family.

Contributions can, from Tuesday, be dropped to the front counter at Gisborne District Council in Fitzherbert Street or deposited into the KiwiBank account of Ka Pai Kaiti Trust (reference: SINGH).

Donations can be posted to Ka Pai Kaiti Trust, PO Box 698, Gisborne 4010, with a note that it is for the family of Mr Singh.

Donations can also be deposited into the Ka Pai Kaiti Trust bank account: 38-9001-0219689-00 (KiwiBank). Reference: SINGH.
INQUIRY SCENE: Detectives and ESR scientists resumed their scene search at Kaiti Beach this morning as they look for clues in the homicide inquiry involving missing Indian national Amandeep Singh. The spot where Mr Singh’s body lay is marked by the blue police tent. An appeal has been launched in Gisborne to raise money to assist Mr Singh’s family. Picture by Paul Rickard
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