Shahjahanpur (UP), Oct 7 (PTI) A court here on Saturday sentenced to death a British citizen for murdering her NRI husband with the help of a friend seven years ago, a government counsel said.
Additional District and Sessions Judge Pankaj Kumar Srivastava held Ramandeep Kaur (wife of deceased Sukhjeet Singh) guilty. Her friend and accomplice Gurpreet Singh was also held guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment and a fine of Rs 3 lakh imposed on him.
The court also held Gurpreet guilty under the Arms Act and sentenced him to three years of imprisonment along with imposing a fine of Rs 10,000.
Additional District Government Counsel Shree Pal Verma said Sukhjeet Singh (34), a resident of Basantapur under Banda police station, went to England for a job in 2002. There he became friends with Ramandeep Kaur, a resident of Derby.
Sukhjeet got the job of a driver and subsequently married Ramandeep in 2005. On July 28, 2016, Sukhjeet along with Ramandeep and their sons came to Shahjahanpur on a vacation.
"On September 1, 2016, when Sukhjeet was sleeping with his sons Arjun and Aryan, he was attacked by a sharp-edged weapon by Ramandeep and her friend Gurpreet Singh," Verma said, adding Arjun was 9 years and Aryan 7 years old at that time.
Both Ramandeep and Gurpreet were arrested and sent to jail.
Verma said after Sukhjeet's murder, Ramandeep's parents moved a court in England seeking custody of their grandchildren. However, the court rejected their application and said the minor children should live with their paternal relatives.
"During the hearing in India, Arjun told the court that he was sleeping with his father, when his mother smothered her husband with a pillow. Then, Gurpreet hit Sukhjeet with a hammer on his head. After that, Gurpreet took out a knife from his pocket and gave it to Ramandeep, who slit the throat of Sukhjeet," Verma said.
Superintendent of Police Ashok Kumar Meena said information about the judgement is being sent to the Ministry of External Affairs, Ministry of Home Affairs and the high commission.
On whether, a British citizen can be sentenced to death by a court in India, Verma said, "Why not? She committed a crime here and this was her in-laws' place. She was staying here. Before committing the crime, she was in Shahjahanpur, and she was in Shahjahanpur after the crime as well."