Ishtpal Singh: Grievances allegedly fuelled mate's metal pole murder

Seventeen metal clangs — one quickly after another — echoed into the night as Ishtpal Singh allegedly bludgeoned his friend to death with a metal pole in a local park.

Footage of the alleged murder, captured after the pair had spent the evening enjoying a barbecue and drinks together, startled onlookers as it aired to a Victorian Supreme Court jury on Thursday.

Prosecutors claim Singh was driven to the killing over grievances with his close friend Anmoral Singh Bajwa.

Singh, 32, has pleaded not guilty to murdering Mr Bajwa and is facing a jury trial.

The accused had picked up his friend on the evening of January 20, 2025, after they agreed to a drink and barbecue at Shillings Park, near the victim’s home in southwest Melbourne.

CCTV shown to the jury captured the pair purchasing food and alcohol together before travelling to the park where they stayed for more than four hours.

Unbeknownst to his friend, Singh had allegedly arrived earlier at the park in Mambourin to scope it out and hide a metal pole in shrubbery.

As the pair drank whiskey and ate, security footage captured Mr Bajwa on a video call while Singh was allegedly seen relocating the metal pole closer to where they were sitting.

After the call ended, Mr Bajwa slumped forward, which prosecutor Jim Shaw alleged was either due to the alcohol or the accused assaulting him.

“Shortly after midnight, the accused killed the victim by hitting him in the head and face 17 times with a long metal pole,” Mr Shaw told the jury.

Mr Bajwa suffered “catastrophic” head injuries and died at the scene.

Singh allegedly drove to Echuca to see his ex-wife before handing himself into police, the jury was told.

The killing was a murder and it was carefully planned, the Crown said.

Months before the friends’ last meeting, their mutual friends were wrapped up in a commercial dispute over the break-up of a transport company, the jury was told.

“The pair were not directly involved,” Mr Shaw told the jury.

“Nonetheless (Singh) decided to get involved.”

He allegedly proposed a physical group fight to resolve the dispute and later took issue with his friend’s desire to “stay out of it”.

Meanwhile, the pair had decided to buy a truck for Singh’s brother to work with, agreeing to pay half each.

But when the accused went to collect the truck, he discovered he needed to pay an extra $5000 - a commission to Mr Bajwa’s friend who assisted with the deal.

“The accused was angry,” Mr Shaw said.

“He felt ripped off and felt Mr Bajwa was responsible because it was his friend.

“The accused at this point felt his friend had let him down not once, but twice.”

Singh’s defence team are due to make an opening statement on Friday morning.

They have indicated an intention to argue Singh was mentally impaired at the time of the incident and that affected his ability to know what he was doing was wrong, the jury was told.