5 Arrested In Connection With Murder Of Indian Man Found In NJ Wildlife Area
India-West Staff Reporter
Manchester Township, NJ – Five men, including Sandeep Kumar of New York and four others from Indiana, have been charged in connection with the October 2024 murder of Kuldeep Kumar, a 35-year-old man from India, whose body was discovered in an advanced state of decomposition in a New Jersey wildlife area.
Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer and New Jersey State Police Superintendent Colonel Patrick J. Callahan announced on January 3 that Sandeep Kumar, 34, of South Ozone Park, New York, has been charged with murder and conspiracy to commit murder. He is currently being held at Ocean County Jail pending a detention hearing.
The investigation began on December 14, 2024, when the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit was notified of a deceased individual found in the Greenwood Wildlife Management Area in Manchester Township. A subsequent postmortem examination by the Ocean County Medical Examiner’s Office on December 15 confirmed that the cause of death was multiple gunshot wounds to the chest, classifying it as a homicide.
With assistance from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the victim was identified as Kuldeep Kumar. He had been reported missing by family members in Ozone Park, New York, on October 26, 2024.
Authorities determined through a “thorough and comprehensive investigation” that Sourav Kumar, 23; Gaurav Singh, 27; Nirmal Singh, 30; and Gurdeep Singh, 22, all of Greenwood, Indiana, acted together to carry out the murder. On December 19 and 20, all four were charged with murder and conspiracy to commit murder.
The suspects were apprehended on December 20, 2024, in Greenwood, Indiana, by a joint team comprising the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office, New Jersey State Police, FBI, and City of Greenwood Police Department. They were taken into custody without incident and are currently held at Johnson County Jail in Franklin, Indiana, awaiting extradition to New Jersey.
The investigation remains ongoing.
While officials have not commented on motives, some media outlets have speculated that the murder may be linked to an international gang operating out of India. Prosecutors have emphasized that all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
