Canada orders extradition in alleged ‘honour’ killing

OTTAWA: The mother and uncle of a Canadian woman allegedly killed over her secret marriage to a poor rickshaw driver were ordered Friday to be extradited to India to face charges.

A final decision, however, rests with Canada’s attorney general, and could still be appealed.

Jaswinder Kaur Sidhu was found strangled and beaten to death in Punjab in 2000. She was 25 years old.

Her mother Malkit Sidhu and uncle Surjit Badesha were arrested in 2012 in the Vancouver suburb of Maple Ridge on charges of murder and conspiracy to commit murder in the 14-year-old case.

It is alleged that the two disapproved of Sidhu’s marriage, which the victim had kept secret for a year.

After revealing her marriage to her family, who lived in Canada, she reportedly flew to India to reunite with her husband, Mithu Sidhu.

But the couple were attacked as they rode a scooter in a village near Sangrur, Punjab in June 2000. Her husband was severely beaten and left for dead while Sidhu was kidnapped and later killed.

Seven men were eventually convicted of the crime in India, but several of those convictions were overturned on appeal.

The family has denied involvement in the killing.

In so-called “honour” killings, carried out to protect what is seen as family pride, reasons for disapproval can include having relationships outside of one’s caste or religion. – AFP
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