Jassi murder case: Punjab cops way back from Canada empty-handed

Moments before the flight carrying the duo was to take off from Toronto airport, Canadian authorities had taken Kaur and Badesha back into their custody. The Punjab Police team had reached Canada Sunday last as the Supreme Court of Canada cleared the extradition of Jassi’s mother Malkiat Kaur and maternal uncle Surjit Singh Badesha.

In June 2000, Canada-born Jaswinder Kaur Jassi was killed in Punjab for “honour” after she “clandestinely” married Sukhwinder Singh Mithu against her family’s wishes. Kaur and Badesha are alleged to have orchestrated the crime, in which Jassi and Mithu were attacked by “contract killers”. Mithu survived the attack.

In 2005, seven accused in the case were awarded life imprisonment by a trial court in Sangrur. Later, four of them were acquitted but the Supreme Court of India upheld the life imprisonment of three, including a Punjab police inspector, Joginder Singh. “The Punjab Police team will reach Punjab with Malkiat Kaur and Surjit Singh Badesha day after tomorrow,” Patiala Inspector General of Police A S Rai had said on Monday.

Bidhu Shekhar, counsellor (Consular, OCI and CSO) had met Janet Henchey, Director General, International Assistance Group, Department of Justice, Canada, on September 11 regarding extradition of the duo and she (Henchey) informed him that the duo were lodged in Vancouver and she would like them to be “handed over to the Punjab Police at the earliest”.

Earlier, in 2014, Supreme Court of British Columbia had ordered the duo to be extradited to India to face trial in murder case. However, a court of appeal later ruled against the extradition. Supreme Court of Canada earlier this month had cleared the extradition.