Charge over botched Indian plot to murder father-in-law

Police sign
A Perth man has been charged over an alleged plot to have his father-in-law murdered in India. -AAP Image

A Perth man is accused of orchestrating a transnational murder attempt in which his father-in-law was attacked with a machete and shot in the head.

Three men attempted to kill the 65-year-old at a village in Punjab, India in February 2023 but the gun misfired, leaving him with a serious brain injury.

The victim was relocated to WA within weeks of the attack, where police and a family violence team worked with relatives as investigations began.

The 42-year-old Perth man was arrested in June for breaching a family violence restraining order taken out by his ex-wife. During this time, his father-in-law started receiving further death threats.

He has been charged with one count of attempted unlawfully to kill, and is due to appear in Perth Magistrates Court on Thursday.

It will be alleged he was actively seeking people to murder his father-in-law, in what police describe as a transnational conspiracy.

Punjabi police have arrested and charged three men with offences relating to the attack. They have also advised authorities they would not be seeking extradition of the man from Australia.