People protesting in Richmond Hill seeking justice for the deceased.A New York-based Punjabi woman allegedly died by suicide on Wednesday night after recording a video accusing her husband of domestic violence and also naming his parents as responsible for her plight.
In the video, Mandeep Kaur, 30, is seen saying, “Today I am deciding to commit suicide, I am in a very pitiable condition. I tried my best for eight years, but I cannot tolerate daily beating now. For eight years I have been undergoing daily beating and accepting his bad behaviour in the hope that he will mend his way one day.”
“I don’t want to leave my two daughters behind but now I could not tolerate this torture anymore and am taking this extreme step,” she said, adding that for some years after their marriage, her husband had several extramarital affairs. “After seeing the torture inflicted on me, even my father got him (her husband) booked in a case. Then he pleaded… and got off,” she said. The woman also mentioned that her husband kidnapped her for five days and beat her up, adding that he continued to live with other women.
The woman also accused her mother-in-law of passing bad remarks against her family and prompting her husband to torture her, adding that she was forced to leave her children.
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Several videos of the woman’s torture have gone viral on Twitter in which the man is seen assaulting and trying to strangle her as their daughters, aged 4 and 2, are heard crying. In one video, her husband Ranjodhveer Singh Sandhu verbally abuses her and says he wanted a son, not a daughter.
A press release issued by Sikh Women’s Aid, a UK-based organisation that works against abuse within the Sikh and Punjabi communities, said the organisation was saddened to learn of the suicide of the young Sikh Punjabi mother. “She describes a life of abuse, belittling and violence,” it said, adding that the organisation was unable to share many of the videos and photos of the woman as they showed her bleeding and bruised.
“The Sikh Women’s Aid is currently sitting on two domestic homicide reviews on Sikh women who were murdered by their husbands. Our recent surveys showed that 70% of all respondents had suffered a form of domestic abuse. And 35% of respondents had experienced sexual abuse and exploitation as children. The Sikh community is in a crisis, and the number of deaths of women to domestic abuse is rising,” it said.
Gurmit Singh, CEO of Apna Punjab Media Group New York while talking to The Indian Express from Richmond Hill over the phone said that Mandeep Kaur was living close to his house in Richmond hill and her husband is a truck driver. He said that she hails from Uttar Pradesh (UP in India) and had come to the US eight years back along with her husband.
“Yesterday when we came to know about the suicide of Mandeep, we protested but the police here have not registered any case against her husband yet because they treated it as a case of suicide. We are also trying that the Sikh Culture Society, which is an organisation under Sikh Gurudwara in Richmond Hill, should get custody of the two little girls of Mandeep first because if her husband is booked then the girls will be sent to the orphanage which the Sikh community does not want,” said Gurmit, adding that they are also trying to contact the family of the girl in UP (India).
“Some people of our community helped Mandeep’s husband who tried to cremate his body but people of our community did not let him do so and we got it kept in the funeral place and will send it to India to her parents at our own expense,” said he, adding that “Justice for Mandeep” campaign has been launched here and people have been protesting since yesterday at Richmond Hill
Singh is Patiala based in Punjab and also has a local office of his media group here too in patiala and Zirakpur.
On the Social media a a campaing #Mandeep Kaur #justice for Mandeep has alsready going condemening the incident.
US-based director of North American Punjabi Association (NAPA) Satnam Singh Chahal told The Indian Express that it was sad to hear about Mandeep Kaur. “But I would like to highlight that she was not the only Punjabi woman who has been facing domestic violence in the US. There are several who are suffering it, but they are silent because of ‘honour’,” said Chahal.
- The Indian Express website has been rated GREEN for its credibility and trustworthiness by Newsguard, a global service that rates news sources for their journalistic standards.
First published on: 05-08-2022 at 07:50:00 pm