Indian American Love Birds in Detention, Face Justice

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Newark, NJ – In a simple case of getting trapped by the US law and order enforcement agencies, an Indian American couple is now cooling their heels in captivity for plotting to kill the man’s estranged wife.

Indian American Narsan Lingala and his girlfriend Sandya Reddy face charges of trying to hire a hitman to kill the former’s estranged wife. Lingala, 55 is charged by criminal complaint with one count of murder-for-hire was produced before US Magistrate Judge Michael A. Hammer in Newark federal court and was held without bail while his ex-girlfriend, Reddy, 52, appeared in the court on the same charge and was also detained.

The accused Lingala approached a fellow-inmate in May 2018, when he was in a holding cell at the Middlesex County Superior Courthouse as he awaited a court hearing. He asked the fellow inmate if he knew anyone who could kill his estranged wife. The inmate responded that he knew such a person.

In June 2018, at the direction of law enforcement, the inmate introduced Lingala to an undercover agent posing as a hitman. As time passed, Lingala continued to speak with the undercover cop on the phone and planned to meet in person the next time that Lingala travelled from Indiana to New Jersey.

On August 18, 2018, Lingala and the undercover police officer agreed to meet outside a New Jersey shopping mall. Later that day, Lingala and his then-girlfriend, Reddy, arrived outside the mall and approached the cop.

Lingala introduced Reddy and stated that she understood what was going on. The trio then entered the undercover cop’s car.

They proceeded to have a conversation that was video recorded. The cop asked Lingala to confirm what he wanted him to do and the accused said, “I want that woman to be out of my life… totally. Never again. She never comes back.”

During the conversation, the undercover cop asked, “You want me to take care of her?” to which Lingala responded, “Yeah.” The undercover cop stated, “She’s done, I’m going to kill her. End of story.” Lingala responded, “Yeah. End of story.” The undercover agent also said he would not torture the intended victim to which Reddy said, “Right,” and Lingala added, “We don’t want that.”

During the conversation, Lingala gave the cop information about the intended victim including his ex-wife’s full name, home address, age, and home phone number. He also described the entrances to and layout of her home; the name of the company where she worked; and the timing and details of her work commute.

Lingala showed the undercover officer photos of the exterior and interior of his ex-wife’s home. Reddy accessed Facebook and showed pictures of the intended victim to the undercover cop.

The trio proceeded to talk about the price and it was decided at $5,000 and 10,000 with the sliding price based on the job’s complexity. The undercover agent again asked, “What are we agreeing (to) here on price?, to which Lingala replied.”Five to ten thousand.”

Lingala agreed and asked if he could pay after the job was done. The cop, however, said he would need a down payment. The couple discussed the issue and then Lingala asked the cop, “Can I give you a thousand down payment?” to which the undercover cop agreed.

Lingala later stated, “I want that money to go into your pocket.” Lingala informed the undercover officer that making the down payment would take about two weeks. After the meeting, authorities arrested Lingala and Reddy.

Reddy spoke to the authorities after the arrest and gave details of the plot in which Lingala wanted to make sure he doesn’t have to pay child support, and after the intended victim was gone, he would get his kids back.

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According to the court documents, Lingala tried to stop Reddy from talking to the authorities or going for a plea deal. In a letter to Reddy, Lingala wrote, “You are in danger, if you take the plea.” He even added, “If you take plea, our relationship will be over.”

The murder-for-hire charge is punishable by a maximum of 10 years in prison with $250,000 fine.

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