17 years after Canadian Indian Jaswinder Kaur Sidhu's body was fished out of an irrigation canal near Ludhiana district in Punjab, the bride of a few days—a suspected victim of honour killing—appears to be getting justice of sorts.
Her mother Malkit Kaur and uncle Surjit Singh Badesha, both Canadian residents, will be extradited to India, where they will be prosecuted for murder.
The Canadian Supreme Court on Friday allowed the extradition of the duo, following assurances from the Canadian government that the two will not be mistreated in India, said sources in Punjab who were tracking the case from the very beginning.
The heart-wrenching tale of Jaswinder (Jassi as she was popularly known) was the stuff that Bollywood's mushy love stories were made of. And, in the Karan Johar mould of films, it had a strong overseas setting and connect.
Jassi met a local autorickshaw driver Sukhwinder Singh Sidhu while on a visit to Punjab, a state then recovering from 1994 militancy. The two fell in love. She left for Canada. When she returned five years later, her family was adamant about marrying her off. But Jassi and Sukhwinder were clearly struck by the cupid's arrow. The two got secretly married.
The angry family tried to talk her out of it, trying to persuade her to seek divorce. But the girl was in love and unrelenting. They tricked her into lodging complaints against Sukhwinder and had him jailed on the basis of a false rape accusation. They later spirited Jassi off to Canada.
She escaped with the help of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, borrowed money to purchase a ticket to India, and arrived in Punjab, determined to be with her lover. But within a month, her mother and uncle had hired contract killers and finished off Jassi.
A very high profile murder case, Jassi and Sukhwinder's love saga hogged the headlines for a long time.
Says senior journalist Akhil Gautam who tracked the case, "While investigating the murder in 2001 and subsequently in 2005, we were successful in linking the telephone calls made by Jassi's mother and maternal uncle to India. Each call had established the motive behind the murder. It was a painstaking exercise spread over several weeks. I had spoken with Jassi's maternal uncle in Canada several times to question his involvement. I had my facts right. He wanted me to stay out of it; obviously, I would not".
In fact, though the Supreme Court of British Columbia had allowed extradition of Malkit and her brother Surjit in 2014, it was stalled on grounds that there was not enough evidence to allow extradition.
Gautam was also involved in making a documentary on the topic—Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's show went by the name of Fifth Estate. Later, the story was told in a film titled Murder Unveiled. A book titled Justice for Jassi was also written by a Canadian-Indian author.
Sukhwinder is reported to be leading a life of mourning in his village in Ludhiana district. Sources in Punjab police said they were yet to receive orders from the Canadian court, required to take the next step in the extradition.
