By Michael Morrah
Deepak Nagpal is described by someone who knows him as having a lot of respect for the Sangha famliy, a family he lived with from time to time in Tauranga.
"He was very close to family. He used to say they are too good to him. Their little baby is also too good. They had a full faith in him," says Tanveer Singh, a friend of the family.
Mr Singh used to travel to Auckland with Nagpal where they both studied business at the former Educational Institute.
Nagpal is now facing a charge of murdering Ravneet Sangha, whose body - along with that of her daughter - was found at their home by police.
Ravneet's husband, Dev, left court today devastated.
He can't believe that his friend, Nagpal, has been charged.
"I said ‘Oh, Deepak? He was my friend’. I was just shocked like that," says Mr Singh.
Nagpal visited India for several weeks before the killings occurred. He returned to New Zealand 10 days ago.
3 News can reveal that Nagpal then attempted to go back to India after the killings took place, but was arrested before he could go.
Pushbinder Singh says the accused asked him for a lift to Auckland for a flight on Saturday.
"We went to the Westfield Mall at Manukau and we drop him here. And his friends came to pick him so we went (back) to Tauranga,” says Pushbinder Singh.
Singh says the accused wanted the money from India - 15 hundred thousand ruppees - to open a shop in Tauranga.
Mike Clement, Inspector for Western Bay of Plenty police, is appealing to the public for info.
"I would just like to make an appeal to the community in terms of Deepak Nagpal's movements throughout the period that he has been in New Zealand on this occasion," he says.
Nagpal was remanded in custody for a fortnight - tomorrow the Indian community in Tauranga will gather together to grieve at a public funeral.
3 News
source: newshub archive
