Kiranjit Ahluwalia

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Kiranjit Ahluwalia (* 1955 in Chak Kalal , Punjab (India) ) is an Indian woman living in Great Britain who killed her husband, who is said to have tormented her for many years, and whose life was filmed in 2006.

Life

Ahluwalia came from a Sikh family from Chakkalal in Punjab, India. In 1979, at the age of 23, she left her hometown to emigrate to Great Britain after marrying Deepak Ahluwaria . There she reportedly experienced domestic violence, including physical violence, food deprivation and marital rape, for over ten years . She gave birth to two sons, in July 1984 and January 1986.

On May 9, 1989, while her husband was sleeping in bed, Ahluwalia fetched gasoline and caustic soda from the garage, poured them over the bed and set it on fire. Then she ran into the garden with her three year old son. The husband suffered severe burns to over forty percent of his body and died days later from the effects of the severe burns and sepsis . Ahluwalia was arrested and eventually charged with murder.

Ahluwalia was convicted of murder in December 1989. The prosecution took the fact that she waited for her husband to go to sleep as evidence of treachery and ruled out an act of affect . She was found guilty of murder and sentenced to life in prison.

Eventually, her case caught the attention of the Southall Black Sisters , a women's social organization, who were campaigning for Ahluwalia. On appeal, Ahluwalia's conviction was overturned because she had received inadequate advice. Ahluwalia was unaware that she could have pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the basis of diminished sanity . In addition, it was revealed that she was suffering from severe depression when she killed her husband. Her new attorney, Edward Foster, a Crown Attorney , questioned her ability to make decisions at the time of the crime. She wrote an autobiography called Circle Of Light with co-author Rahila Gupta, a Southall Black Sisters activist .

Trivia

The British film Provoked: A True Story is based on her autobiography.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Kiranjit Ahluwalia. Retrieved December 23, 2018 (American English).
  2. ↑ Kiranjit Ahluwalia's case. December 7, 2015. Retrieved December 23, 2018 (American English).
personal data
SURNAME Ahluwalia, Kiranjit
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Indian murderess
DATE OF BIRTH 1955
PLACE OF BIRTH Chak Kalal