Hiring a Hitman in Hoshiarpur
An interesting news article caught my attention yesterday. While we have read on this blog about ‘holiday brides’ and other problems in Punjab, it seems that these problems, along with many older ones (especially involving jameen [land]) have opened a new-old market for contract killings. According to the Kalinga Times:
Contract killings involving non-resident Indians have increased in Punjab in recent years. In most cases, fallen out marriages, illicit affairs and property disputes are the main reason why NRIs get people killed. The killings are carried out in Punjab and not in the adopted countries of these NRIs because of the lax laws here.
So want to kill a Punjabi? Wait until he/she goes to Punjab. It will only cost you a mere $25,000 to $125,000. A crooked Punjab Police would be only too eager to turn the other way for the right price.
The most publicized case of a hired hitman was that of Jaswinder Kaur AKA “Jassi” and her gruesome murder in June 2000, seemingly on the order of her Canadian family. Her case was shown on Dateline NBC.
The article reports:
The trend of contract killing is particularly prevalent in Punjab’s Doaba belt – the land between the Sutlej and Beas rivers comprising the districts of Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur, Kapurthala and Nawanshahr – from where the maximum number of NRIs hail.
On visits to Punjab, I am always sickened by the sense of entitlement expressed by non-resident Punjabis. Always demanding ‘special’ treatment and favors, whether at specially-designed Sarais, hotels, and restaurants, bothers me. Believing that one can manipulate currency exchange rates to end bitter feuds is especially abhorrent. While we often times point fingers at our cousins, brothers, and sisters in Punjab, I wonder if many of the problems there, would be better understood by looking at a mirror and understanding the function, or rather dysfunction, caused by non-resident Punjabis.
14 Responses to “Hiring a Hitman in Hoshiarpur”
I don't know if the latter really follows. Yes, NRPs can be obnoxious, belittling, uncouth, etc. That said, I seriously doubt that this is why Jaswinder Kaur was "taken out" by her family, or why other family members threaten to hire assassins during inheritance and land disputes. I'm always shocked by why people think it's ok (or even Sikh!) to solve a dispute via contract murder. This also plays into the inconsistent and (sometimes inappropriate) law enforcement in Punjab, also. I'm sure there are other factors — what do you think?
I don’t know if the latter really follows. Yes, NRPs can be obnoxious, belittling, uncouth, etc. That said, I seriously doubt that this is why Jaswinder Kaur was “taken out” by her family, or why other family members threaten to hire assassins during inheritance and land disputes. I’m always shocked by why people think it’s ok (or even Sikh!) to solve a dispute via contract murder. This also plays into the inconsistent and (sometimes inappropriate) law enforcement in Punjab, also. I’m sure there are other factors — what do you think?
Hey Camille,
You are right in that there were probably a number of reasons that Jaswinder's family 'took her out,' but it is interesting that they would NEVER probably even have consider doing it in Canada. It is a sense of abusing the conditions in Punjab that allows NRPs to have a sense of entitlement to practice only in Punjab what they would never do in Canada, US, UK, etc.
Hey Camille,
You are right in that there were probably a number of reasons that Jaswinder’s family ‘took her out,’ but it is interesting that they would NEVER probably even have consider doing it in Canada. It is a sense of abusing the conditions in Punjab that allows NRPs to have a sense of entitlement to practice only in Punjab what they would never do in Canada, US, UK, etc.
There are a lot of residents of Punjab that abuse the law by using money as well. If people have enough money out there, a lot is possible. So do these people practice a sense of entitlement due to their level of wealth? What do you think? Does that bother you at the same level as NRP sense of entitlement?
There are a lot of residents of Punjab that abuse the law by using money as well. If people have enough money out there, a lot is possible. So do these people practice a sense of entitlement due to their level of wealth? What do you think? Does that bother you at the same level as NRP sense of entitlement?
There was a recent case of a Sikh woman called Surjit Athwal from London who wanted a divorce from her husband. Her mother-in-law took her to Punjab on the pretext of attending a wedding and had her murdered. Ten years later, only due to the persistence of her brother and family, Surjit's husband and mother-in-law were found guilty of murder in a landmark case and sentenced to life imprisonment. The mother-in-law is around 75 years old and the oldest woman ever to be convicted of murder in Britain. Surjit's brother is now a campaigner against honour killings in the Sikh community and has described a culture of 'remote control killings' in which British men and women are taken to Punjab and murdered there.
There was a recent case of a Sikh woman called Surjit Athwal from London who wanted a divorce from her husband. Her mother-in-law took her to Punjab on the pretext of attending a wedding and had her murdered. Ten years later, only due to the persistence of her brother and family, Surjit’s husband and mother-in-law were found guilty of murder in a landmark case and sentenced to life imprisonment. The mother-in-law is around 75 years old and the oldest woman ever to be convicted of murder in Britain. Surjit’s brother is now a campaigner against honour killings in the Sikh community and has described a culture of ‘remote control killings’ in which British men and women are taken to Punjab and murdered there.
[…] Sikhs visited Punjab, began affecting people’s usage of surnames in Punjab as well. (Another example of the diasporic actions’ effect on the homeland). Another example from the article, comes […]
[…] the politics of their homeland. While on certain occasions I have been critical of special ‘entitlements‘ and malicious effects the diaspora has had on the Punjabi homeland, sometimes our political […]
[…] have commented on this topic before, but unfortunately I am sure more and more new cases will continue to pop […]
[…] their daughter. (I have commented a few times on the rise in contract killings in Punjab here and here) However, even after the death of his beloved Sukhwinder Singh “Mithu” still could not find […]
More profile information about yourself on feeyd.com
More profile information about yourself on feeyd.com