UK MPs back probe into woman’s ‘honour killing’

London, December 9

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Two UK MPs have backed a family’s campaign for a new investigation into the alleged honour killing of a British Sikh woman while she was on holiday in India.

Seeta Kaur, who has been named for the first time this week after her case emerged earlier this month, was a mother of four who died in highly suspicious circumstances during a trip to Haryana in March last year after refusing to allow one of her sons to be adopted by her childless brother-in-law.

Her UK-based family, including twin sister Geeta, claimed that the 33-year-old was the victim of a classic case of honour killing, with MPs Naz Shah and Kate Osamor now backing them at an event in the British Parliament complex to launch the ‘Justice for Seeta’ campaign this week.

“It is the extra-territorial nature of this crime that has made it so difficult to seek justice for Seeta. Honour killings should not be sidelined as an issue affecting only certain communities. This is a feminist issue,” said Osamor.

Southall Black Sisters, a UK-based human rights group for minority women, had been leading the campaign, claiming that Seeta’s family had been unable to get the police in India to properly investigate her death.

“On March 31, her family in London received a call in the middle of the night to say she had died. The ostensible cause of death was a heart attack. On hearing the news, her family left immediately with the intention of bringing her body back. They claimed that they saw marks of strangulation on her body, but their testimony was their only evidence because she was cremated,” said Rahila Gupta of Southall Black Sisters.

Seeta’s four young children remained in India with their father even though they were made wards of the court by a British High Court in April last year, ordering their immediate return to the UK. “No assistance has been offered by any British agency to get the children back to this country,” said Gupta.

The family said they had proof that Seeta was under pressure to give one of her sons to her husband’s brother and his wife in India, who were childless and wanted a male heir. They alleged that her husband quit his job, tried to sell his car and cancelled his car insurance before the trip with the intention of not returning to the UK.

Shamik Dutta, a lawyer on behalf of the family, said, “If our police are serious about honour-based violence and honour-based killings, they must recognise the extra-territorial nature of that crime and make sure that perpetrators do not feel they have anywhere to hide.”

A Scotland Yard spokesperson said, “We are in the process of responding to a number of queries raised with us by a firm of solicitors acting on behalf of Seeta’s family.” Earlier this month, the family had written to UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, calling for a new investigation.

In the letter to Johnson, representatives of the family said Seeta was tricked into going on a family trip to India, where she died after a heated argument with her husband. Her husband, a builder living with his family in north London, could not be contacted for comment. — PTI