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Jassi Sidhu’s relatives denied bail ahead of extradition hearing
By Keith Fraser, The Province - February 29, 2012
Undated photo of Malkit Kaur Sidhu (front) and Surjit Singh Badesha, mother and uncle respectively
of Jaswinder Kaur "Jassi" Sidhu, the 25-year-old Maple Ridge woman who defied her family to marry the man
she loved and was murdered in India on June 8, 2000. On Friday, Jan. 6, 2012, Jassi's mother and uncle were
arrested on warrants issued under the Extradition Act by the Supreme Court of B.C. the previous day and are
being held pending an extradition hearing.
Photograph by: Submitted, Courtesy CBC
The mother and uncle of murder victim Jassi Sidhu engaged in a “campaign of terror” against her after learning of her secret marriage to an Indian man, a prosecutor alleges.
Malkit Kaur Sidhu, 63, and Surjit Singh Badesha, 67, both of Maple Ridge, were arrested in January and have been charged with conspiracy to commit murder in connection with the June 2000 slaying in India of the 25-year-old victim.
The pair are being sought for extradition to India.
The accused and their lawyers appeared in B.C. Supreme Court last week and argued they should be released pending their extradition hearing.
But the Crown argued the mom and uncle had targeted Jassi Sidhu and Mithu Singh Sidhu, the young man she had secretly married, against the wishes of her family.
“You will see in the record, it is replete with threats by Ms. Sidhu and Mr. Badesha,” prosecutor Deborah Strachan, who’s acting on behalf of the state of India, said in arguments Friday that were subject to a temporary publication ban. “They essentially engaged in a campaign of terror on various visits to India.”
Jassi and Mithu were married in March 1999 and Jassi returned to Canada in May 1999, with the marriage only being discovered at the end of the year.
Strachan told B.C. Supreme Court Justice Mark McEwan that Jassi told friends and co-workers that she feared she’d be killed if her family learned of the marriage.
Badesha and Malkit Sidhu travelled to India and told Punjab police that Jassi had been abducted at gunpoint and forced to marry Mithu, Strachan said.
The two accused told Mithu to forget about his marriage and have it nullified, she said.
“They threatened Mithu’s mother and friends, telling them that Mithu would be killed and that they themselves would be killed because of their support for the marriage,” said Strachan.
After Jassi told police that her husband had done nothing wrong, he was released and the couple went into hiding.
On June 8, 2000, Jassi and Mithu were attacked by a group of men, with Mithu being beaten badly and Jassi abducted. Her body was found the next day, her throat slit.
Strachan said the accused should be detained because there was a substantial risk they would try to interfere with witnesses.
On Wednesday, the judge lifted the publication ban on the case and denied bail to the accused. The case was put over until next week to set a date for the hearing.
kfraser@theprovince.com
twitter.com/keithrfraser
© Copyright (c) The Province
source: http://www.theprovince.com/news/Jas...+ahead+extradition+hearing/6229487/story.html
By Keith Fraser, The Province - February 29, 2012
Undated photo of Malkit Kaur Sidhu (front) and Surjit Singh Badesha, mother and uncle respectively
of Jaswinder Kaur "Jassi" Sidhu, the 25-year-old Maple Ridge woman who defied her family to marry the man
she loved and was murdered in India on June 8, 2000. On Friday, Jan. 6, 2012, Jassi's mother and uncle were
arrested on warrants issued under the Extradition Act by the Supreme Court of B.C. the previous day and are
being held pending an extradition hearing.
Photograph by: Submitted, Courtesy CBC
The mother and uncle of murder victim Jassi Sidhu engaged in a “campaign of terror” against her after learning of her secret marriage to an Indian man, a prosecutor alleges.
Malkit Kaur Sidhu, 63, and Surjit Singh Badesha, 67, both of Maple Ridge, were arrested in January and have been charged with conspiracy to commit murder in connection with the June 2000 slaying in India of the 25-year-old victim.
The pair are being sought for extradition to India.
The accused and their lawyers appeared in B.C. Supreme Court last week and argued they should be released pending their extradition hearing.
But the Crown argued the mom and uncle had targeted Jassi Sidhu and Mithu Singh Sidhu, the young man she had secretly married, against the wishes of her family.
“You will see in the record, it is replete with threats by Ms. Sidhu and Mr. Badesha,” prosecutor Deborah Strachan, who’s acting on behalf of the state of India, said in arguments Friday that were subject to a temporary publication ban. “They essentially engaged in a campaign of terror on various visits to India.”
Jassi and Mithu were married in March 1999 and Jassi returned to Canada in May 1999, with the marriage only being discovered at the end of the year.
Strachan told B.C. Supreme Court Justice Mark McEwan that Jassi told friends and co-workers that she feared she’d be killed if her family learned of the marriage.
Badesha and Malkit Sidhu travelled to India and told Punjab police that Jassi had been abducted at gunpoint and forced to marry Mithu, Strachan said.
The two accused told Mithu to forget about his marriage and have it nullified, she said.
“They threatened Mithu’s mother and friends, telling them that Mithu would be killed and that they themselves would be killed because of their support for the marriage,” said Strachan.
After Jassi told police that her husband had done nothing wrong, he was released and the couple went into hiding.
On June 8, 2000, Jassi and Mithu were attacked by a group of men, with Mithu being beaten badly and Jassi abducted. Her body was found the next day, her throat slit.
Strachan said the accused should be detained because there was a substantial risk they would try to interfere with witnesses.
On Wednesday, the judge lifted the publication ban on the case and denied bail to the accused. The case was put over until next week to set a date for the hearing.
kfraser@theprovince.com
twitter.com/keithrfraser
© Copyright (c) The Province
source: http://www.theprovince.com/news/Jas...+ahead+extradition+hearing/6229487/story.html
