Melbourne: A Punjab-origin man has been extradited to Australia from India in connection with the murder of a woman Toyah Cordingley. She was found dead on Queensland Beach in 2018.
Rajwinder Singh was escorted by Queensland police on a Qantas flight and arrived in Melbourne on Wednesday afternoon, officials said. He made a brief appearance in the court and expected to face charges for Cordingley’s murder.
Queensland police had told the court today that it has DNA evidence against Rajwinder Singh. He was remanded into custody.
Singh was arrested from Delhi in November last year after the Queensland government placed a reward of $1 million ($672,000) for information.
According to a police, Beach went to a popular tourist destinations of Cairns and Port Douglas on October 21, 2018, to take her dog for a walk, but never came home. Her body was discovered the next day by his father, who was half buried in sand dunes. The murder shocked the local community.
Originally a resident of Buttar Kalan village of Gurdaspur in Punjab, Singh was living in Innisfail at the time of the murder, two hours away from the scene of the crime.
The Australian police have alleged that the accused fled the country hours after the murder and was living in Punjab after evading arrest. He abandoned his family and his employment.
At the time of Singh’s arrest, Queensland Police Minister Mark Ryan said it had been a “long time of waiting” and “the next stage in delivering justice for Toyah”.