Sandeep Kumar of South Ozone Park, NY charged in alleged murder and conspiracy to commit murder with 4 others

- ADVERTISEMENT -

Ocean County, New Jersey, Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer and Colonel Patrick J. Callahan, Superintendent of the New Jersey State Police announced that on January 3, 2025, Sandeep Kumar, 34, of South Ozone Park, New York, was charged with “Murder and Conspiracy to Commit Murder” in connection with the death of Kuldeep Kumar, 35, of India, in Manchester Township, on or about October 22, 2024.

According to a press release from the Office of the Ocean County Prosecutor, on January 3, 2025, Sandeep Kumar was taken into custody and processed at the New Jersey State Police Barracks in Holmdel.  He is currently at the Ocean County Jail pending a detention hearing.

On December 14, 2024, the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit was informed of a deceased individual in the Greenwood Wildlife Management Area in Manchester Township, NJ.

- ADVERTISEMENT -

Detectives from multiple agencies, including the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit, New Jersey State Police Major Crime Unit, New Jersey State Police Crime Scene Investigation Unit, Manchester Township Police Department, Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit, and New Jersey Conservation Police Department, discovered the dead man whose body was in a state of advanced decomposition.

On December 15, 2024, the Ocean County Medical Examiner’s Office performed a postmortem which concluded that the cause of death was multiple gunshot wounds to the chest, and the manner of death was a homicide.  With assistance from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the individual was identified as Kuldeep Kumar.

Initial investigation by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit and New Jersey State Police Major Crime Unit revealed that Kuldeep Kumar had been reported missing by family in Ozone Park, New York, on October 26, 2024.

After numerous law enforcement agencies conducted a “thorough and comprehensive investigation,”  it was determined that Sourav Kumar, 23, Gaurav Singh, 27, Nirmal Singh, 30,  and Gurdeep Singh, 22, all of Greenwood, Indiana, acted together and in support of one another in carrying out the murder of Kuldeep Kumar. The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law, the press release noted.

On December 19, 2024, Sourav Kumar and Gaurav Singh were charged with Murder and Conspiracy to Commit Murder in connection with the death of Kuldeep Kumar.  Additionally, on December 20, 2024, Nirmal Singh and Gurdeep Singh were both charged with the same crimes relative to Kumar’s death.

On December 20, 2024, Sourav Kumar, Guarav Singh, Nirmal Singh, and Gurdeep Singh, were taken into custody in Greenwood, Indiana, by Detectives from the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit, New Jersey State Police Major Crime Unit, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and City of Greenwood (Indiana) Police Department, without incident.  They were transported to Johnson County Jail in Franklin, Indiana, where they will remain lodged pending their extradition to New Jersey.

The investigation is ongoing.

According to a news report on Wishtv.com of Indiana, the murder of Kuldeep Kumar may be linked to an international gang operating from India.