Husband Facing Murder Charges

Husband of slain Surrey teacher now facing murder charge in her death
Camille Bains -
Monday, March 12, 2007


DELTA, B.C. (CP) - A Surrey, B.C., high school teacher has been charged with second-degree murder charge in the death of his pregnant wife, also a teacher, police said Monday.

The charge against 35-year-old Mukhtiar Panghali follows an investigation spanning several months. The charred remains of 30-year-old Manjit Panghali were found beside a road in this Vancouver suburb last October, several days after she had disappeared.
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/hard-talk/15114-husband-facing-murder-charges.html

Police said the accused's 27-year-old brother, Sukhvinder, is charged with being an accessory after the fact, and both men are accused of improper or indecent interference with a body.

"Today would have been my sister's due date," Manjit's sister Jasmine Bhambra told a police news conference.

"We should be in the hospital right now welcoming the newest member of our family," she said as Manjit's father held up a picture of his daughter and wiped away tears.

She said it was a bittersweet moment for her family.

"While we are relieved to some degree with recent developments we are still processing through the realities of this nightmare that we have been living since Manjit's death.

"The gruesome murder of Manjit and her unborn baby has left us and the entire local community shocked and horrified.

"Vibrant, funny, devoted, inspiring, honest and gentle, that was our Manjit who has been taken away from us so senselessly."

Police spokesman Const. Sharlene Brooks said police are recommending charges of assaulting a police officer and attempting to flee custody against Sukhvinder.

"One of our investigators was injured and he's currently recovering from surgery that he went through overnight," Brooks said.

"He sustained significant injuries to his shoulder."

Manjit Panghali's death was among three attacks on Indo-Canadian women in the Vancouver area in a two-week period last fall, two of them fatal.
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=15114

The incidents led to renewed concerns about domestic violence in the South Asian community and prompted well-attended forums for people to voice their concerns.

Brooks read a statement on behalf of Chief Const. Jim Cessford.

"I extend my deepest and most sincere sympathies and condolences to the family and friends of Manjit Pangali.

"The past few months have been very difficult for everyone affected by this terrible tragedy."

 
Do share your immediate thoughts or reactions on this issue? We value your views! Login Now! or Sign Up Today! to share your views with us.. Gurfateh!

__________________
Prayer = TALKING to God; Meditation/Simran = LISTENING to God !
With the Divine Love & Blessings of WAHEGURU Ji, I wish you peace, love, light (enlightenment), health & happiness in life!

Update: More than 4 years after her murder


Forensic expert tells court that pregnant Canadian Sikh woman was strangled, burned

Victoria (British Columbia, Canada), Nov.18 : The Supreme Court in the Canadian province of British Columbia has been told that by a forensic pathologist that a pregnant Canadian Sikh woman was strangled and burned before her body was deposited on a beach.

Dr. Charles Lee provided the testimony in B.C. Supreme Court on Wednesday at the second-degree murder trial of Mukhtiar Panghali.

According to the Globe and Mail, Panghali has been accused of killing his wife, Manjit.

Manjit went missing on October 18, 2006, after apparently telling her husband she was going to a prenatal class. The elementary school teacher’s body was found on a South Delta beach five days later.

Cell phone records will help prove man killed pregnant wife.

Dr. Lee performed an autopsy on Manjit Panghali’s body and told the court he found bruises and bone fractures in her neck.
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=15114

“Those features are typically seen in cases of strangulation,” he said.

In sometimes grisly testimony, Dr. Lee said Ms. Panghali’s back and pelvis in particular suffered a great deal of fire damage. Her eyes were also burned away.

Dr. Lee said Ms. Panghali was likely dead before she was burned because there was no soot in her airway.

Dr. Lee, who works for Vancouver General Hospital and has testified at a number of trials.

He said Ms. Panghali’s fetus was 16 to 20 weeks old at the time of death. He said the fetus appeared to be female. (ANI)
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=15114

http://www.indiatalkies.com/2010/11/...ed-burned.html

There is no mention of motive in this case...

Aman Singh Ji:

The Mukhtiar Singh Panghali trial started this week and is expected to take up to a month.

Added information is being gradually revealed by the Crown in court daily. However the motive that led to the murder of Mrs. Manjit Kaur Panghali by her husband has not been mentioned yet in court!
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=15114
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=15114


This trial is getting a vast amount of news coverage: TV , radio & print.

Stay tuned !

Thanks Soul_jyot ji for the update on this trial. I am startled that the motive has not been mentioned in court. However, should not be surprised because after Aman Singh ji asked about the motive, I looked back over 2 years of news articles. Not a single one of the articles that I was able to find mentioned a motive. If that information is out there, I did not find it.

To get regular updated information on this trial, I recommend "google search" with words:Mukhtiar Panghali trial

It should always be big news as it is wrong! Only by making such killings shameful can we hope to quash them

While this article here --
http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Pan...220/story.html -- does not address the issue of the motive for the killing per se, it seems pretty clear to me that this is a classic case of domestic violence resulting in death.

Mr. Panghali indicated to his friend that he was concerned his wife was in an inappropriate relationship with someone named "Tony."

As a former victim of domestic abuse, and as someone who works in Corrections, this sort of thing is still far too common -- it is time men started talking to other MEN about the problem of Domestic Violence and why it is completely unacceptable to EVER hit or otherwise hurt a woman or a child, nor is it acceptable to verbally abuse or humiliate a woman or a child.

Until men, as a community, hold one another accountable for how they treat women, the problem will continue.

Here are a few key facts to consider:

In the U.S., domestic violence kills more pregnant women each year than any other cause. ~23% of all women experience violence during pregnancy, with pregnant adolescents and women with unintended pregnancies at an increased risk of being abused.

(I would imagine the data for DV in Canada tracks pretty closely to that in the USA.)

Women are at greatest risk of violence from men they know. In Australia, Canada, Israel, South Africa, and the United States, 40-70 per cent of female murder victims were killed by their partners.

Many men and women believe wife-beating is justified. The shame associated with domestic violence, rape, and other forms of abuse may contribute to the fact that women often suffer it in silence, afraid of repercussions and stigma, and never tell anyone.

In India, 19% of women who have been married between the ages of 15 and 19 report being beaten, hit, kicked, slapped, or otherwise physically hurt by a spouse. According to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, in the 400 cases of domestic violence reported in 1993 in the province of Punjab, nearly half ended with the death of the wife.

Siri Kamala ji

Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=15114
There was a time when I had these kinds of statistics at my fingertips. Not any longer. Therefore, my personal thanks go to you for making this clear statement to all who read the thread, without flinching from the ugly story that the numbers tell. In a way, this story is like an inheritance, one that is handed down over centuries, from generation to generation, in every part of the world. Will it end?
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=15114

Everyone will read your words and take something different away. Here is what stands out for me. The end as often as not, and sometimes more often than not, is death. Violent death. Sometimes an excruciating death. The case studies are out there for all to read.

Another great shame is the conspiracy of silence that surrounds these criminal acts. Silence on the part of a family, a community, and a broader culture. Ending the silence is an important step for everyone who is part of a sick system that permits this to continue -- in every part of the world.

It was wonderful to learn a little more about you too, as a person. Thanks for all your other thoughtful contributions here to SPN in the time since you have joined us.