Darbara Singh was born in 1952 in Jallupur Khera village, Amritsar district, Punjab, India. He came from a working-class background and joined the Indian Armed Forces, serving as a soldier stationed at Pathankot Air Force Station. Singh’s early life was marked by disciplinary problems and violence. In 1975, he was accused of throwing a grenade at the house of his superior, Major V. K. Sharma, during a personal dispute. The explosion seriously injured the officer’s wife and teenage son. Although Singh was dismissed from service and arrested, he was later acquitted in court.

After his discharge, Singh’s personal life deteriorated further. He was married with three children, but his wife expelled him from their home because of what relatives described as his “bad habits”, including alcoholism and erratic behavior.

In 1996, Singh’s violence escalated when he raped and attempted to murder a young girl—the daughter of a migrant laborer—in Kapurthala. In 1997, he was convicted in three separate cases of rape and attempted murder and sentenced to 30 years’ imprisonment. During his incarceration, he was moved between Jalandhar and Ludhiana Central Jails.

After serving nearly nine years, Singh was prematurely released on December 3, 2003, due to a mercy petition approved on the basis of “good conduct.” Following his release, Singh developed a deep-seated hatred of non-Punjabi migrant workers, whom he irrationally blamed for his imprisonment. He moved to Jalandhar, took up factory work in the Leather Complex area, and began plotting revenge—targeting the most vulnerable symbol of the migrant community: their children.

Between April and October 2004, the industrial city of Jalandhar, Punjab, witnessed the horrifying abductions and murders of 23 children, most of them under the age of 10. The victims were primarily children of Bihari and Uttar Pradesh migrant workers living in crowded labor colonies. Panic spread among local communities as child after child vanished without ransom demands or clues.

Singh’s modus operandi was both methodical and predatory. He lured children with sweets, samosas, sugarcane juice, or crackers, usually between 10:00 a.m. and 12:30 p.m., when parents were away working in factories. He would take the child to a secluded location, often near canals, fields, or bridges, where he would sexually assault and kill them, usually by slitting their throats. In his later confession, Singh claimed that he raped the corpses to “avoid the shrieks of the victims.”

On April 18, 2004, sisters Diksha (8) and Asha, along with two cousins, were approached by Singh near Company Bagh. Offering to buy them toys, Singh led them away to the Bahadurpur Uppal canal. He made Asha sit aside and took Diksha behind the bushes, where he raped and killed her. Asha escaped and later helped identify Singh. Diksha’s body was found naked, with severe genital injuries, and her death was attributed to neurogenic shock.

On August 22, 2004, Singh abducted Tazbin, a young girl playing outside her home. Her mutilated body was discovered a week later near Chaheru village. She had been sexually assaulted and killed, her remains so decomposed that police initially declared the body unclaimed and cremated it. Singh would later be charged, but acquitted due to lack of evidence.

On October 18, 2004, Nishu, a girl playing near her home, was lured away and brutally attacked. Singh slashed her throat, leaving her for dead. Miraculously, she survived but was rendered mute due to damage to her windpipe. Nishu’s later identification of Singh from news photographs was crucial in linking him to the series of disappearances.

Singh’s final known victims were Khursheed and Ronku, two young boys abducted while playing outside their homes. He sexually assaulted both and murdered them, leaving their bodies near Kadianwali village. Following Singh’s arrest, he led police to the site of the decomposing bodies.