A mother and uncle accused of ordering the killing of a Maple Ridge woman have been ordered extradited to India.
Jaswinder (Jassi) Sidhu was killed in June 2000 in the Indian state of Punjab after she married rickshaw driver Sukhwinder ‘Mithu’ Sidhu against the wishes of her Canadian family.
B.C. Supreme Court Justice Gregory Fitch ruled Friday there is enough evidence to extradite Jassi's mother, Malkit Kaur Sidhu, and her uncle, Singh Badesha, to India, where they’ve been charged with conspiracy to commit murder.
The bulk of the Crown’s case was based on evidence Indian prosecutors are expected to present at trial, but was bolstered by testimony from Jassi’s co-workers and friends.
The daughter of wealthy blueberry farmers, Jassi met Mithu on a family trip to India and carried on a clandestine long-distance romance with him until they were secretly married in 1999.
While in India, the 25-year-old and her husband were attacked by a gang of men. Jassi’s body was found a day later in a ditch, her throat slit.
Her husband survived the attack.
Malkit Sidhu and Singh Badesha are accused of orchestrating Jassi’s murder from the family home, located across from Jerry Sulina Park in Maple Ridge.
The pair have 30 days to file an appeal and the federal minister of justice can veto the judge's decision if Canada does not get assurances from India that they will not be executed, if found guilty.
The final decision rests with the federal minister of justice and even that decision may be appealed.
Jim Longridge was the principal of Pitt Meadows secondary when Jassi graduated and lobbied for years to get police to pursue a murder investigation.
"We have crossed one hurdle, but there are more to go," he said during a break outisde B.C. Supreme Court. "There are no winners here, just victims and conspirators."