The man accused of murdering Gurjit Singh in his Dunedin residence can now be identified, as suppression for the 33-year-old technician, previously listed as Rajinder in court documents, has lapsed.
When Rajinder appeared in the High Court at Dunedin last month, Justice Cameron Mander had extended the suppression order due to the man's recent receipt of evidential disclosure. However, there was no application from counsel John Westgate to maintain suppression today.
Singh, 27, who had been married in India just months before his death, was discovered dead at his Pine Hill home on January 29, surrounded by shards of glass.
Singh was last seen alive a day before he was murdered, Narindervir Singh from the Otago Punjabi Foundation Trust said.
"After having dinner with friends at their house, around 10.30pm I think, he came back home. Then in the morning the family from India called the friends and said that he wasn't answering the phone," Narindervir said.
"So one of the friends went… and when he arrived at the house, as soon as he opened the door he said he was able to see him lying in the courtyard, in an open area. His turban was not on his head and there were a lot of wounds on his body, open wounds that were clearly visible."
The friend then rang emergency services, he said.
Two weeks prior, Gurjit had arrived home to find his garage door unlocked, Narindervir said.
"He saw his garage door open, which raised concerns about the security of the house so he thought he should install CCTV cameras and actually, he bought CCTV cameras."
Rajinder was arrested over a week later and has since remained in custody without applying for bail.
Singh's father, Nishan, flew from India to New Zealand upon learning of the tragedy, expressing confidence in the justice system's ability to deliver appropriate punishment for the responsible party.
Following the incident, the Otago Punjabi Foundation Trust established a Givealittle page, which garnered nearly $46,000 from almost 1000 donors in three weeks.
Detective Senior Sergeant Kallum Croudis acknowledged the significant investigative efforts of a large team and expressed gratitude for the public's assistance through information and CCTV footage.
Rajinder is scheduled to appear before the High Court again in April.