In Griffith Local Court earlier this week, Harpreet Singh was given an 18-month good behaviour bond and is not allowed to contact his ex-partner, Sunaina Vardanega, and her husband Russell Vardanega.

Court heard that on July 25, Mr Vardanega received a phone call from Mr Singh. Mr Singh asked Mr Vardanega to meet him, but when Mr Vardanega declined, Mr Singh threatened his ex-wife’s new husband.

Court heard Mr Singh said he would “fix up” Mr Vardanega and threatened to kill him.

Mr Vardanega lodged a restraining order and Mr Singh was charged with stalk/intimidate, intend physical harm.

Mr Vardanega said the couple didn’t want anything to do with Mr Singh, who was the prime suspect in the murder case of Ranjodh Singh.

Ranjodh Singh had his hands and feet bound and was stabbed 20 times in December 2009.

The man’s throat was slashed twice and his body was set alight while he was still alive.

His charred remains were found in a ditch on Wilga Road, about 20 kilometres outside of Griffith.

Two-and-a-half years later, in the Albury Supreme Court, a jury found the man accused of his murder, Harpreet Singh, not guilty.

The Crown case against the then 26-year-old had relied entirely on the evidence of two witnesses who were present when Harpreet Singh and Ranjodh Singh disappeared into orchards outside of Griffith, after arguing over money.

Police believed a dispute over about $2000 in wages owed to Ranjodh Singh by Harpreet Singh motivated the alleged murder, documents tendered to the court said at the time.

Police inquiries revealed Harpreet Singh had earned a reputation as a “violent stand-over man”.

During the murder trial, Crown prosecutor Peter McGrath told the jury Harpreet Singh had celebrated his birthday on December 28, 2009, holding a party at the Griffith flat of Gurpreet Singh and his girlfriend, Harpreet Kaur Bhullar.

The prosecutor said a fight erupted between Harpreet Singh and Ranjodh Singh in which Harpreet Singh threatened to kill the Indian fruit picker.

Court heard later that night the four Indian nationals got in a car and drove to an orchard and Harpreet Singh and Ranjod Singh left the car.

The prosecutor said when Harpreet Singh returned to the vehicle alone, he was holding a knife and said “I have done the job”.

Gurpreet Singh and his girlfriend Harpreet Kaur Bhullar pleaded guilty to being accessories after the fact to Harpreet Singh’s murder of Ranjodh Singh.

But Forensic examinations failed to link Harpreet Singh to the crime.

The murder, along with a number of other crimes against Indian nationals in late 2009 and early 2010, caused international ructions and the Indian government issued travel warnings to its citizens visiting Australia.