Grandmother jailed for life over honour killing of 'cheating' daughter-in-law

Bachan Athwal, 70, arranged for Heathrow Customs officer Surjit Athwal to "disappear off the surface of the earth" after discovering she was having an affair and that she wanted to end her marriage.

Bachan's son Sukhdave, 43, was also given a life sentence at the Old Bailey today for his part in the murder of his wife, whose body has never been found.

Judge Giles Forrester told Bachan she would serve a minimum of 20 years. Sukhdave was ordered to serve at least 27 years before he can be considered for release.

Surjit, 27, was lured on a trip to India in December 1998 by her mother-in-law for a family wedding - but never returned.

Later the Sikh grandmother of 16 boasted that she had got rid of Surjit by getting a relative to strangle her and throw the body into a river.

Today Surjit's family praised the police investigation but said the Met, the Foreign Office and agencies in India should have acted faster.

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Her brother Jagdeesh Singh called for a public inquiry into how honour killings such as his sister's, and the recent case of Banaz Mahmod, are treated by the authorities.

Earlier this year the father and uncle of Miss Mahmod, 20, were sentenced to life after she was strangled and her body buried in a suitcase for falling in love with a man outside the Kurdish community. It was claimed Miss Mahmod's fears for her safety were not taken seriously by the authorities.

Bachan, from Hayes, west London, was found guilty of murder at an earlier trial.

Heathrow bus driver Sukhdave, who still lives with his mother, was also found guilty of murder. Both had denied the offences.

The grey-haired widow, who has always protested her innocence, wept in the dock with her head bowed as she became one of the oldest women in Britain to be jailed for life in recent times.

Bachan shook her head as the judge told them: "How you could commit this unspeakable act I do not know. There was no motive worthy of the name. You did it because you perceived she had brought shame on the family name.

"In reality you murdered her for no better reason than the existence of matrimonial difficulties and the likely breakdown of the marriage. You decided the so-called honour of your family name was worth more than the life of this young woman."

Bachan took charge of Surjit's young daughter, getting the girl to call her 'mummy', the court heard.

Sukhdave took out a £100,000 insurance policy on his wife the day she left for India but it was never paid out.

During the three-month trial earlier this year, the court heard the pair almost got away with the murder until they were betrayed by relatives who gave evidence.

The court heard Surjit, originally from Coventry, had been a vivacious woman whose Western ways annoyed the family. Then it was discovered she was having an affair with a colleague and wanted to end her 10-year marriage. When she failed to return from India, Sukhdave told her worried relatives and the police that she was a 'slag' who had run away with another man in India.

But Bachan told relatives she had been strangled by a male relative and thrown into the river Ravi in the Punjab. Mother and son attempted to disrupt the Indian investigation by sending forged letters, supposedly from the police. Sukhdave divorced Surjit in her absence and remarried.

A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police Sikh Association said: "The MPSA, taking a clear steer from the Sikh religion, condemns crimes against women, including honour killings. However, we accept that Sikhs, reverting to their Punjabi culture which is ingrained deeply in their psyche and belief system, are responsible for many girls like Surjit disappearing without trace.

"The outcome of the trial sends out a clear message to those that hide behind Sikhism to justify their horrendous crimes. We acknowledge the persistence, patience and incredible bravery of the family and witnesses."