Key words:
Jassi murder case; justice for jassi ; Mithu, Sukhwinder, Kaunke
“Now, I can ask Jassi’s mother if our love was
such a big crime?” : Mithu (husband of Jassi)
“I braved
death and threats and fake police cases to see this day”
Jupinderjit
Singh
“I survived for this day only when the killers
of my wife, Jassi, would be sent to India and face trial for her murder. I
braved death and threats and fake police cases in 17 years of struggle for
justice to see this day.”
Says
Sukhwinder Singh alias Mithu reacting to the Canadian Supreme Court’s decision
on Friday allowing extradition of Jassi’s mother Malkiat Kaur and maternal
uncle Surjit Singh Badesha (Malkiat’s elder brother).
“Now, I can
confront Malkiat Kaur face to face and ask her why she considered her
daughter’s love for me such a big crime that she got her killed,” Mithu added,
his voice choking.
After the
murder on June 8, 2000 by 14 contract killers,
Punjab Police had charged both with conspiracy to murder Jaswinder Kaur
alias Jassi for marrying Mithu against family wishes. Police charge sheet said
both planned the conspiracy in Canada and got it executed in India.
Mithu drives
a truck these days to earn a living and was on the road since early morning.
“The whole purpose of my existence post Jassi’s murder is to see her mother and
Uncle behind bars one day and pay for the crime,” he said.
“Jassi and I
got married with honour. Her parents may have been mad at us if I had not
married Jassi. We followed the sanctity of marriage. I am still her husband. I
have spurned hundreds of marriage offers. I want to tell her mom my love was
true and committed to Jassi in life and beyond,’ said Mithu, who did not budge
despite false police cases against him and offers to crores of ruppes and land
to withdraw his statement against Jassi’s mother and Uncle.
Mithu and
Jassi’s story is a well known international honour killing case which has been
subject of a movie, book and documentary
by the National Geogrpahic.
Hailing the verdict, Mithu laments the
Canadian government never allowed him to plead for the extradition in their courts, “ I believe today that there is
justice in Canada. The government had stone-walled my request to visit
Canada to pursue the case,” he said.
Sukhwinder
Singh alias Mithu of Kaunke Khosa said he had weaved a life of love and
happiness with Canada-born Indian girl Jaswinder Kaur Jassi in the late 1990s.
But when they got married against the wishes of Jassi’s parents, the dream life
could be lived for a few weeks only. Both were attacked by a group of contract
killers allegedly hired by Jassi’s mother and an uncle. Jassi died. Mithu
survived, but only to live a life full of sufferings.
Mihtu had
recently moved the two-member Justice Mehtab Singh Commission of Inquiry into
false cases registered by the Punjab Police in the last 10 years.
The range of
cases against him varies from rape, for which he spent three-and-a-half years
in jail before his acquittal, to rioting, snatching and even drugs smuggling.
He has been booked six times in different cases and has already been acquitted
in four.
“The cops
who arrested me were sympathetic, but they wanted me to forget all about Jassi
and my fight for justice… I have even declined several marriage proposals
coming my way. I can’t share my love for Jassi with anyone,” Mithu told The
Tribune.
“Every offer of a compromise I declined
resulted in a new case against me,” he has claimed before the commission. His
application has been registered and notices have been sent to the police.
“From an
initial offer of Rs 10 lakh to the latest Rs 1.5 crore besides the ownership of
14 acres of land or a well-settled life abroad, the supporters of the accused
have promised it all to me. But I can’t trade my love for all this. I just want
Jassi’s mother and uncle to be punished for what they did to her and me,” said
Mithu. His voice trembling in between as his torrid life flashes before his
eyes. EOM
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