Death in Arizona: Family still hopes girl's parents will get to settle in US

KURUKSHETRA: The family of 6-year-old Gurupreet Kaur, who died in Arizona desert on June 15, while entering the US with her mother, mourned her death during the antim ardas (last rites) function organized at their native village in Kurukshetra district. The family back in India told they have suffered an unbearable loss, but were still looking forward to their son, who is living in the US since 2013, and his wife (Gurupreet's mother) settling abroad.
Earlier on Saturday, Gurupreet's grandparents in India requested anonymity and said they did not want to be identified till the completion of their granddaughter's last rites.
On Sunday, they agreed for details to be shared. The last rites were held in Hasanpur village in Thanesar block of Kurukshetra district. Gurupreet's mother, Satwinder, belongs to Nigdhu village in Karnal. The name of the deceased girl's father is Avtar Singh. The couple had married in Hasanpur in 2011, the family said.
Avtar's father Gurmeet Singh, who is in his seventies, told TOI, "After the marriage, they had Gurupreet. Avtar went to the US in 2013, when Gurupreet was just six months old. Since then Gurupreet and her mother Satwinder had been living with us here. Satwinder is a graduate who made arrangements by herself to reach the US as she had not seen her husband since 2013. Gurupreet was also eager to meet her father and her death has left us all shocked. Avtar's case for asylum is pending in an immigration court of the US and we are hopeful that he will get to settle there with his wife. The loss of Gurupreet is unbearable to our family but now we want our children to be settled in the US, so they can start a new life. We are hopeful that in the coming time we will be able to meet our son and daughter-in-law."
The grandfather said, "We are in regular contact with my son Avtar, who told us about Gurupreet's death. He said that while on their way Gurupreet asked for water. Her mother Satwinder, who was accompanied by other immigrants, then went out looking for water. But she got lost in the desert and did not return for long. The fellow travellers left Gurupreet behind and continued their journey. Later, the US border securities arrested all the immigrants and located my granddaughter's dead body in the desert."
Gurmeet is a farmer and his elder son Kuldip Singh lives with him, while a third son is also in some foreign country. The family did not want to disclose any details of their third son and or how Satwinder and Gurupreet managed to reach Mexico.