Relieved, hope justice will be done, says Mithu

Jupinderjit Singh

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, January 24

Sukhwinder Singh, alias Mithu, of Kaunke Kalan village near Jagraon, is a relieved man today as two prime accused in the murder case of his wife Jassi are finally extradited to India after a wait of 19 years. Those extradited are Jassi’s mother Malkit Kaur Sidhu and maternal uncle Surjit Singh Badesha. The extradition took place after a series of blockades, including a last minute airport drama in September last year.

The duo was brought to Delhi by a team of the Canada Police after the Indian government made an objection to the Canadian government over the last year’s airport drama. Punjab police senior officers said Canada agreed to ‘deliver’ the duo to India to make up for the procedural lapses last year.

Mithu has been waiting for this day all these years. “At last they will face trial. I have been dreaming of the day when I will get a chance to confront Jassi’s mother on her killing,” he said.

Mithu faced six cases of different nature, including rape, and spent three years in jail before he was acquitted. He even rejected offers of Rs 2 crore and some acres of land.

While Jassi died on June 8, 2000, near Malerkotla, Mithu survived despite being stabbed several times. He did not remarry and became an addict for a while before being elected a member of the village panchayat. He says his only purpose is to confront Jassi’s mother.

On May 9, 2014, following proceedings in the Supreme Court of British Columbia, Justice Gregory Finch ordered Surjit Badesha and Malkit Sidhu to be handed over to the Indian police to face trial. Finch justified his decision with evidence that India had presented against Badesha, including 266 phone calls between Badesha and four men convicted of the killing.

Mithu and Jassi first saw each other at a market in Jagraon in 1996. It was love at first sight. They kept in touch through letters and phone calls and got secretly married in March 2000. Jassi’s family did not agree to their marriage as Mithu was a poor farmer’s son while Jassi’s uncle Bidesha was the richest landlord of the village.

After the marriage, Jassi went back to Canada to prepare papers for his immigration. However, her parents got a whiff of their plan. Mithu was booked for kidnapping and raping Jassi and it was claimed she was a minor. Jassi flew back to India and cleared him of the charges in April 2000. However, she was killed on June 8.

In 2005, Mithu was booked for raping a village girl. However, he was acquitted when the girl said he was wrongly accused at the behest of Jassi’s mother’s relatives.