NRI mother, son being probed for honour killing

A Sikh woman posted as a Customs Officer at the Heathrow Airport was allegedly lured to India by her husband and mother-in-law...

A Sikh woman posted as a Customs Officer at the Heathrow Airport was allegedly lured to India by her husband and mother-in-law and later murdered in an 8220;honour killing8221; for having an extra-marital affair, a British court was told.

Surjit Athwal, 27, mother of two young children, was last seen in 1998, and her body has never been found, but Michael Worsley, prosecutor, told the Jury at the Old Bailey yesterday that it was believed she had been strangled.

She met her husband Sukhdave Athwal on the day of her marriage in 1988 when she was 17. The wedding was arranged by the two families, who were both Sikhs.

Her disappearance came to light only when her relatives, previously too scared to say anything, went to the police.

Sukhdave Athwal, 42, and his mother, Bachan Athwal, 68, from Hayes, Middlesex, deny murder. They also deny conspiring with others to murder Athwal in December 1998.

The court was told her husband8217;s family became outraged when she had an affair with another customs officer and she then began divorce proceedings.

8220;You can imagine the resentment that a divorce would have been capable of giving rise to in a family in whom close family bonds are regarded as desirable,8221; said Worsley.

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Having resolved to 8220;get rid8221; of her daughter-in-law, Bachan and her son lured Surjit to India to attend a series of weddings. Pictures were taken of her at the events. 8220;Within a few days, she completely disappeared,8221; said Worsley.

When Bachan returned from India, she told close family members the truth, but told others that Surjit had been strangled by her brother or by his friend. The mother and the son also forged letters from the Metropolitan Police to Indian counterparts to throw detectives off the scene, Worsley said.

The mother and son also faked a document transferring ownership of the home Surjit part-owned into their names.