By Mata Press Service

An Indian court is set to hear the appeals of seven men convicted in the murder of Maple Ridge beautician Jaswinder Kaur Sidhu, who was killed by members of her family after she secretly married her lover.

The seven were sentenced to life imprisonment in 2005.

Jaswinder aka Jassi was 25 when she was kidnapped, tortured and had her throat slit on June 8, 2000.

Her husband Sukhwinder “Mithu” Singh was left for dead after he was attacked by the sword-wielding assailants. He survived the attack.

Indian police in court papers allege that the order to kill “came from Canada” after Jassi pleaded for her life over the phone from an abandoned farmhouse. The phone calls have been traced to Jassi’s family home in Maple Ridge, according to court documents.

The Indian government is seeking the extradition of Jassi’s mother Malkiat Kaur and her millionaire blueberry farmer uncle, Surjit Singh Badesha from Maple Ridge BC.

Both have been charged in India with conspiracy to commit murder but have denied any involvement in the incident.

The South Asian Post reported in June that two RCMP officers met with Mithu to record a statement in relation to extradition request.

The statement was recorded at the Ludiana jail in Punjab where Mithu is awaiting trial for allegedly raping a village girl - a charge he says was trumped up by his dead wife’s relatives.

RCMP officers Paul McCarl and Amarjit Chauhan filed for access to Mithu in a Punjab court after Indian police were forced to revise their extradition requests at least four times.

The appeal and visit by the RCMP are the latest developments in Jassi’s saga of forbidden love which is detailed on the website www.justiceforjassi.com.

Court papers obtained by The South Asian Post identified the appellants as Darshan Singh, Hardev Singh, Ashwani Kumar, Gurvinder Singh, Gursharan Singh aka Tony, Anil Kumar and Joginder Singh, a former police inspector.

During the trial, the court heard how some of the men boasted about the murder while having drinks and discussing the Indian media coverage of the incident.

All were directly involved in the kidnapping, assault and murder, the court was told.

In addition murder weapons, telephone records, Jassi’s photographs and the farmhouse where she was murdered have all been linked to the appellants.

The seven have listed over 40 reasons on why they should be released from jail in their appeal papers filed in the Punjab High Court.

They claim that police fabricated evidence, that Jassi’s body was not properly identified, that there were no eye-witnesses to the murder and that the prosecution had “failed miserably” to prove Jassi was murdered.

In addition, they claim that the injuries sustained by Mithu could have been self-inflicted and that several prosecution witnesses were less than credible.

In the jail cell where he is being held on unproven rape charges, Mithu was shocked when told of the pending appeal.

“I have been in jail for three years on this unproven charge and these killers may be able to walk after serving less than two years…what kind of justice is that,” said Mithu.

Speaking to The South Asian Post correspondent in Ludhiana, Mithu said he feels betrayed by the entire system.

“All this for what…just because I married the girl I loved,” said the former auto-rickshaw driver.

Mithu speaks haltingly as he suffers from memory loss due to the severe head injuries he sustained in the attack that killed his wife.

Running out of cash and hope, Mithu said he does not know who is going to represent him at the appeal hearing.

Legal experts in India said if Mithu’s interests are not represented adequately in the appeal process, there is a good chance that the appellants may win their case.

“Generally speaking, it is not good enough to only have a prosecutor fighting the appeal in this system…you would need a lawyer to look after the interests of Mithu,” said a Ludhiana-based lawyer.

“The High Court judges, who are already overworked, tend to take their cue from the forceful representations of the appellants lawyers….the crown prosecutors…well they are also overworked,” he said.

The case has attracted international attention and a petition on www.justiceforjassi.comhas attracted thousands of signatures.