Indian judge who ordered Brit mum to be hanged for murdering husband in front of son claims she deserved ‘rare’ penalty
THE judge who sentenced a Brit mum to death for murdering her husband after poisoning his curry said she deserved the “rare” punishment.
In a plot with her lover, Ramandeep Kaur Mann, 38, laced her partner’s favourite meal with sleeping pills before slitting his throat in front of their young son in September 2016.
The mother-of-two was convicted of the love-triangle murder of her husband of 11 years, Sukhjit Singh, who bled to death on holiday in northern India as their nine-year-old son watched in horror.
Earlier this month, Mann was sentenced by an Indian court to death by hanging.
Judge Pankaj Kumar Srivastava has now revealed the “rarest of rare” punishments was handed out because of Mann’s behaviour towards her mother-in-law during the trial.
In his ruling, the judge stated that Mann “hurled abuse at her mother-in-law” constantly during the trial, MailOnline reports.
“This is one of the reasons why her case is one of the ‘rarest of the rare,’ as per the guidelines of the Supreme Court of India.
“She should be given capital punishment because if she is not given strict punishment then every mother would think a thousand times before admitting her daughter in law into her home.”
He praised Mann’s 69-year-old mother-in-law’s conduct and stated: “Because of women like you, other women can keep their heads held high and their children are safe.
“You did not deserve to be treated like this by your daughter-in-law. The pain you have suffered is deeper than the sea.”
Only last week, Mann broke her silence to tell the world that death row is like living “in hell”.
The killer mum now waits caged in one of India’s most overcrowded prisons with 55 other female prisoners and 1,300 male inmates – official capacity for the lock up is just 511.
She is the only foreign prisoner and the only one on death row in the grim 18th century Shahjahanpur District Jail.
Speaking to MailOnline, Mann said: “It’s horrendous, it’s like being in hell- both this prison and the bigger situation that I find myself in,” she said.
“It’s the worst thing that has happened to me. I feel so alone, I haven’t made any friends in here and I just keep myself to myself.”
She claimed her conviction was a “miscarriage of justice” and still insists from behind bars that her husband’s family framed her.
The twister killer alleged that Singh’s family carried out the unthinkable murder after he revealed plans to sell 21 acres of land.
“There’s nobody helping me, I’m all alone here. I can’t begin to tell you how horrendous this whole thing is,” she added.
“I’m not good at all. Please, somebody help me.”
Mann, who grew up in Slough, Berkshire, met Sukhjit in 2002 when she was just 17 and he was 20.
They married in 2005 and after running a pizza restaurant in Carshalton, Surrey, moved to Derby to raise their two boys.
Mann and her lover, Gurpreet Singh, began their sordid affair a year before they carried out the barbaric crime while staying with family in Basantapur, Uttar Pradesh, in 2016.
The horrors that unfolded were a complete shock to the people who knew them from their Derby home.
The 38-year-old and her accomplice, who was Sukhjit’s childhood best friend, laced their victim’s Biryani with sedatives, smothered him with a pillow, bludgeoned him with a hammer and finally slit his throat.
The sick pair are said to have brutally taken Sukhjit’s life for a £2million life insurance policy as well as property in both the UK and India.
And, the evil murder was tragically witnessed by the couple’s eldest son, Arjun, who was just nine at the time.
Arjun’s mum had put sedatives in his curry to stop him from walking in on their gruesome plan.
However, they hadn’t fully taken effect before his dad was killed in front of his eyes.
The traumatised little boy later told police: “My dad was great but my mum was bad and I don’t want to see her face ever because she killed my dad in front of my eyes.
“She kept a pillow on my dad’s face and asked Gurpreet to slit his throat.”
He was the sole eye-witness to the horrific crime and had to testify against his own mother in court.
Mann was quickly arrested and sentenced to death by hanging, while Singh was given life in prison and a £260,000 fine.
The British mum’s lawyers are attempting to appeal the death sentence and argued the judge’s statements about her abusing her mother-in-law are “ridiculous”.
Lawyer Sanjay Kumar Mishra said: “My client did get quite worked up during the trial, especially when she saw her mother-in-law and did abuse her.
“That’s a fact. She didn’t behave in the best way. But that doesn’t mean she should get the death penalty.
“It’s a ridiculous, laughable ruling by the judge.”