British Mother Sentenced to Hang in India Following Conviction for Husband’s Murder
A mother from the UK has been handed a death sentence by hanging in India, following her conviction for the murder of her husband, an act witnessed in sheer horror by her son.
Sukhjeet Singh, 34, was discovered with his throat fatally slashed in a brutal assault orchestrated by his wife, Ramandeep Kaur Mann, and her paramour, Gurpreet Singh, while the couple were on vacation in India with their two children in 2016.
The lone witness to this horrifying crime was the couple’s nine-year-old son, who later gave testimony against his mother in court, according to a report by the Times of India.
“Arjun recounted to the court how his mother and Gurpreet took his father’s life while he slept in their home,” stated Shree Pal Verma, the government counsel of Shahjahanpur.
“Further investigation revealed that the woman was involved in a romantic relationship with Gurpreet, and together, they conspired to end Sukhjit’s life.”
Verma went on to explain that on the night of September 1, 2016, Ramandeep laced their family’s food with sedatives, inducing a deep slumber in all household members. Subsequently, she covertly opened the gates to admit her lover and family acquaintance, Gurpreet, into the premises. There, the two of them struck Sukhjit on the head with a hammer before ultimately slitting his throat.
The couple’s young son, who had not consumed the sedative-laced food, awoke to the tumult later in the night and bore witness to the gruesome crime.
Verma recounted, “He awoke to commotion in the room and saw his mother seated on his father’s lifeless form, suffocating him with a pillow.
‘Gurpreet struck his father twice with a hammer to the head. Seeing that his father was still breathing, Gurpreet retrieved a knife from his pocket. His mother then took the knife from Gurpreet and slit his father’s throat.”
When asked about the motive behind the murder, she claimed that her husband intended to sell his entire property and relocate to England. As a result, her family members killed him and falsely implicated her.
“‘She asserted her innocence and intends to appeal against the death sentence,’ stated Superintendent of Shahjahanpur district jail, Mijaji Lal, in court.
Ramandeep’s family consistently maintained that she and her husband shared an ‘incredibly loving marriage’ and were ‘deeply devoted’. They reiterated that she had been framed for Sukhjit’s murder.
A family insider remarked, ‘The family is utterly devastated and shattered by this. Nonetheless, their pursuit of justice persists. They will not relent.’
Formerly employed as a shop manager at Argos in Derby, Ramandeep met Sukhjit when he worked as a driver in England. Her accomplice, Gurpreet, hailed from Punjab and was a childhood friend of Sukhjit, often visiting their home. Reportedly, he developed a romantic relationship with Ramandeep.
As the judge sentenced Gurpreet to life imprisonment and Ramandeep to death by hanging, he observed of the murder, ‘It wasn’t just one man who perished that day. The remaining years of an elderly widow were extinguished, as well as the childhood and youth of two minor children.
‘These children have lost the joy they once had when their father was alive.’
In 2016, the Derby Telegraph quoted a family friend as saying, ‘They all cherished their life in Derby.’ The friend added that they were esteemed members of the community, with Sukhjeet Singh actively involved with the Gurdwara in Princes Street and the National Sikh Museum.
