- Sunday, April 28, 2024
Ramandeep Kaur Mann, 38, from Derby, found guilty of the murder of Sukhjit Singh
By: Pramod Thomas
A WOMAN who murdered her husband in a plot with her lover has been sentenced to death in India.
Ramandeep Kaur Mann, 38, from Derby, found guilty of the murder of Sukhjit Singh whiile on a family holiday at his mother’s house in north India in September 2016.
Mann is reported to have spiked biryani, her husband’s favourite dish, with sedatives, which he consumed along with their youngest son, Aryan.
After Sukhjit fell into a deep sleep, she allowed her lover, Gurpreet Singh, to enter their home.
Gurpreet struck Sukhjit on the head with a hammer and handed Mann a knife, which she used to slit her husband’s throat.
Their eldest son, Arjun, who was only nine-years-old at the time, saw what his mother did and provided crucial testimony against her in an Indian court.
Mann’s affair with Gurpreet began during a family holiday in Dubai in November 2015 and their secret romance continued as they exchanged WhatsApp messages and phone calls.
As their long-distance relationship progressed, Mann devised a plan to end her marriage and inherit her husband’s wealth. She suggested a visit to Sukhjit’s mother in India in September 2016, where Gurpreet would also join them.
The court in Shahjahanpur, north India, heard that Mann stood to benefit from a life insurance policy in Sukhjit’s name; their UK home and his property and other assets in India. According to some UK media reports, the insurance amount alone was worth £1 million.
After Sukhjit’s murder, Gurpreet was arrested while attempting to flee to Dubai from Delhi.
Mann was taken into custody at her mother-in-law’s home, and police suspected her involvement from the outset. The murder weapon, a bloody knife, was discovered near her place of stay.
Despite Mann’s family’s claims that she was framed, she was sentenced to death, while Gurpreet received a life imprisonment sentence with a fine of £3,000.
“This disgusting crime was being plotted by Mann while she was in the UK and Gurpreet in Dubai. Gurpreet was like her husband’s brother, they were very close. His family still can’t believe that he betrayed them like this,” Ashok Khanna, lawyer for the victim’s family told MailOnline.
“Mann has not shown any remorse and has been very arrogant from the moment she was arrested. She deserves this punishment because this is a woman who drugged her own husband and children so that she could kill him. Who does that kind of thing?”
Following the verdict, Sukhjit’s mother, Vanesh Kaur, said, “My prayers were answered and I got what I was expecting from the court. I was demanding capital punishment for Ramandeep so that no mother’s child dies like this.”
Grew up in Slough, Berkshire, Mann did a degree in graphic design at Thames Valley University. In 2005, she married Sukhjit, who had relocated to the UK from India in 2002.
The couple initially operated a pizza shop in Carshalton, south London, before relocating to Derby, where Sukhjit became a prominent figure in the local Sikh community. During this time, Mann held a managerial position at Argos.
It is reported that Mann expended approximately £100,000 in legal fees, even resorting to selling her Derby residence to generate funds for her legal defence.
Mann is currently in Shahjahanpur district jail and will remain there until the outcome of her appeal, which could span several years.
