Gurpreet Singh served in the Indian Army for 25 years before returning to the village in 2021. (Express Photo).

As the body of Gurpreet Singh, the former Indian Army sepoy, who allegedly killed three people across Uttar Pradesh in a 48-hour spree before being shot dead in a police encounter, arrived in his village in Punjab’s Tarn Taran district, the cremation was performed the same day, leaving behind a grieving and bewildered community.

Swarn Singh, the Sarpanch of Takhtu Chak and Gurpreet’s family friend, claimed that the deceased was a man whose violent end seemed entirely at odds with the quiet life he had lived in his village.

“There was no fight with anyone in the village until today.…