Jaswinder Sidhu was killed 14 years ago in Punjab.
By Deepak Chitnis
WASHINGTON, DC: The purported orchestrators of a 14 year-old honor killing are set to be extradited from Canada back to India, where they will stand trial for the murder.
Malkit Kaur Sidhu and her brother, Surjit Singh Badesha, have been charged by Indian authorities for masterminding the abduction and murder of Sidhu’s 25 year-old daughter, Jaswinder “Jassi” Sidhu, on June 8, 2000. The murder, allege law enforcement officials, was sanctioned from Canada over the phone, and was done because Jassi married a poor man who her mother and uncle felt besmirched the family name.
According to The Canadian Press, Jassi met her husband, Sukhwinder “Mithu” Singh Sidhu during a trip to the Indian state of Punjab in the mid-1990s. The two hit it off and kept in touch over the years, even after Jassi returned to Canada, where she was raised in the Maple Ridge area.
In early 1999, Jassi went to India and married Mithu, even going so far as to get the marriage officially recognized by Indian courts. She then came back to Canada, but kept the union secret from her family, knowing that they would disapprove.
When her uncle, Badesha, began making arrangements for her to marry a 60 year-old businessman (Jassi was only 24 at the time), her marriage to Mithu came out. Friends and co-workers testified over the years that they saw her come to work with wounds and bruises, which she said were because her family was livid at the fact that she married a poor Punjabi autorickshaw driver. She would also allegedly miss days of work without warning or notice.
In 2000, Jassi fled Canada, presumably for good, to be with her husband. It was at this time that her mother and uncle allegedly began formulating a plan that ultimately led to her death, although it’s not yet completely clear if this was always their intention.
On June 8, Jassi and Mithu were attacked by a gang of at least seven men. Jassi was abducted, while Mithu was savagely beaten. The following day, Jassi’s body was found with its throat slit – something that, according to prosecutors, was apparently sanctioned remotely by her own mother, who was in Canada.
The seven men were eventually tried and convicted, although three successfully appealed and had their convictions overturned. Mithu was also incarcerated for over four years, under charges that he raped and was somehow involved with the murder of his wife; he was eventually exonerated of these charges.
Now, after years of back-and-forth between the Indian and Canadian governments, Jassi’s mother and uncle will be sent to India to stand trial for their involvement with her death. Both have been in custody since 2012, when they were initially arrested.
The two still have 30 days in which they can appeal the extradition order, and the process can drag on even further if the courts feel the appeal carries weight. Vancouver Desi reports that Badesha intends to file an appeal; he has maintained that there is not enough evidence to tie him to his niece’s murder.