A UK woman faces the death penalty in India after being convicted of drugging her husband’s food and then killing him in the presence of their child.
Thirty-eight-year-old Ramandeep Kaur Mann added sedatives to a meal she served her husband, Sukhjit Singh, during their vacation in Delhi in September 2016. Subsequently, while under the influence of the drug, he was fatally assaulted in his mother’s residence.
The incident was witnessed by their nine-year-old son, who later provided testimony against his mother during the trial. Reports indicate that Sukhjit was attacked with a hammer after consuming the spiked food and had his throat cut.
Mann was convicted alongside her alleged lover, Gurpreet Singh, in what is described as a murder conspiracy aimed at securing Sukhjit’s £2 million life insurance. The prosecution stated that Ramandeep and Gurpreet had a romantic relationship.
Prosecutor Shree Pal Verma shared the young boy’s court testimony, describing the chilling scene of his mother and Gurpreet attacking his father. On the evening of the murder, only Sukhjit had consumed the tainted meal. The son, spared from the drug, was awakened by the commotion and witnessed the gruesome act.
“The disturbance awakened him, and saw his mother atop his father, attempting to smother him. Gurpreet then struck his father with a hammer. As he remained alive, Gurpreet took out a knife, which Ramandeep used to end her husband’s life,” Verma recounted.
Ramandeep, formerly an Argos shop manager in Derby, met Sukhjit while he was employed as a driver in England.
Following the judgment, Sukhjit’s mother expressed her relief to the media outside the courtroom, appreciating the court’s decision to sentence her daughter-in-law to death.
She conveyed, “I am comforted. The court’s decision met my hopes and answered my prayers. I sought the harshest punishment for Ramandeep in hopes that no other mother endures such a tragedy.”
Ashok Khanna, the legal representative for Sukhjit’s family, remarked, “Mann has displayed no regret and has maintained an unrepentant demeanor since her arrest. Such a penalty is fitting for someone who betrayed her family in the most heinous way.”
Ramandeep now faces the gravest consequences for her actions. However, she intends to challenge the verdict and maintain her innocence.
