Marrying Mithu News Today

Arrangement for this man that was in his 60s that was going to marry jassi. and jassi was adamant that she wouldnt marry him. >> torn between the pressure from her family to marry and the desire to lead a life of her own, jassi came up with a plan. she convinced her mother to bring her to india. in fact, to the state called the punjab, where her mom had grown up. she explained it might help her in choosing a husband. but theres something else she didnt tell her mother. so, was that just a scheme...

And that puts dishonor on the parents role. >> back in canada, jassi told her friends thats exactly why she had to keep her family from finding out about her marriage to mithu. >> they would write letters to each other and secret phone calls and things. and nobody was allowed in her family couldnt find out because it was wrong. she knew it was very wrong. >> but the letters to mithu, revealed that the girl who had never had a date, let alone a boyfriend, wasnt about to give up the first man shed...

Inadmissible in indian court. so it makes sense that that same evidence could be rejected by the justice system here in canada. >> you cant use canada as a hiding ground to hire people to kill people in other countries and get away with it. >> in canada, the wheels of justice turned, oh, so slowly. in india, jassis heartbroken husband, mithu, was under guard 24 hours a day, to protect him from any other attempts at revenge. though life was difficult for mithu, he did find comfort in the knowledg...

The worst was behind them. but on the night of june 8th, 2000, they were attacked by several men on their way home from the market. mithu was left on the ground, motionless, while jassi was forced into a car and driven to a farmhouse 40 miles away. and thats where she was killed, her body dumped by the road. she had been beaten, stabbed, her throat slashed. so, you literally found out by picking up the morning newspaper? >> uh-huh. >> what went through your mind at that moment? >> no. its not tr...

Jassi spoke to her mother from the family compound. jassi begged for forgiveness. but it was too late for that. the kidnappers got their final instructions. >> translator: surgit saying, finally told the killers on the mobile phone, that the girl should be murdered and the body thrown away. because if she was allowed to stay alive, she would eventually indict the whole lot of them. >> in the end, 13 people were charged with murder. the men accused of planning and carrying out the attack against ...

Effectively cut off from the rest of the world. while her mother and uncle decided what they would do next. and what did they want her to do? >> they offered her money. they just said, divorce him, leave him, just forget about him. >> but jassi refused to give in. though she knew how strongly her family felt, somehow she convinced herself her marriage to mithu could still have a happy ending if only she could find a way to get him to canada. they were going to live happily ever after? >> they we...

And i was certain right then that i wouldnt be able to live without her. >> for mithu, just 18 at the time, the dream of marriage to 19-year-old jassi, and a life together in north america, would have been like winning the lottery. in their hearts, it may have been a match made in heaven. but in the minds of jassis family, it was a union that would defy everything they believed in. >> translator: i had no idea that her family would be so opposed to our being together. i had absolutely no idea th...

They would do anything. >> so at that point, were you thinking about your marriage? having children? growing old together? >> translator: yeah. we were living together. and we were thinking about the future at that point in time. i was very relaxed. >> jassi and mithu were together now for about three months. and there were occasional phone calls to canada, rekindling the hope that a reconciliation with her family might still be possible. mithu recalls the last time they spoke to jassis mother. ...

In 2002, we first told you the story of the young 25-year-old canadian, jassi sidhu. she was murdered in india, after marrying a man of whom her family didnt approve. 13 were charged with murder for killing the young bride, including her own mother and uncle. the people accused of killing jassi also attacked mithu. when we went back to india in 2005, we found out that he had been in jail for a year. mithu, im bob mckeown. we met a couple years ago. we found mithu as he was escorted from a prison...

Yet. people all over the world have taken an interest in mithu and jassi, urging authorities to press charges against jassis uncle and mother. about 20,000 have signed a petition online at justiceforjassi.com. a website created by the south asian post publisher. >> its unacceptable, after seven years, that a girl has been murdered, a canadian citizen has been killed in india and yet we have her mother and uncle yet to be charged. >> now, free again, mithu decided to move to a new city in india t...