Four Arrested in Brutal Attack to “Deface” Bollywood Promoter’s Ex-Wife

Four men have been charged with brutally attacking a Fremont woman with a mallet in February in an alleged hit to “deface” her, police said.

Fremont police say Rakesh Paul Singh, 54, of Milpitas, ordered the hit on his ex-wife, who was attacked by two men and beaten in the face with a mallet in the driveway of her Greenhills Way home on Feb. 11.

According to the Bay Area News Group, the victim suffered permanent facial injuries.

Singh and three others — Donald Harbaugh, 54, of San Jose; Morris Kurtz, 52, of San Jose; and Ricardo Rivera, 27, of Sunnyvale — were arrested April 3 and charged with aggravated mayhem, assault with a deadly weapon and conspiracy, according to Fremont police.

The arrests came after Fremont police tracked down a suspect vehicle, a silver Jeep, to Kurtz. Additional surveillance led them to Harbaugh, who was on parole after serving more than 20 years in prison for kidnapping for ransom.

Investigators also linked Rivera to the crime as an organizer and determined that Singh, who BANG identified as a Bollywood concert promoter, communicated with the others in ordering the attack.

According to BANG, Singh paid Rivera $500 to hire the other men and carry out the attack because Singh’s ex-wife would not reconcile their relationship after divorcing in January 2012.

BANG reports that Singh’s ex-wife told police that Singh may be responsible, and that he had ordered similar attacks in the past, including a former business partner in Tracy.

The ex-wife also said she and Singh met at the Osgood Road Walmart the evening before the attack where she told Singh that she was dating someone else.

All four men are scheduled to appear in court at 9 a.m. on May 7 at the Fremont Hall of Justice.