‘She helped pay my school fees’: Sister of Indian woman stabbed to death in London demands justice
The sister of Kirandeep Kaur, a 24-year-old Punjabi woman who was stabbed to death in her West London home earlier this month, described the loss as devastating and said her family, who were financially dependent on her, now just want justice and for her body to be returned to India for last rites.Gulshalan, 21, told the BBC that Kirandeep moved to the UK in September 2024 to build a better future for her family in Punjab and had been helping to pay for her university fees.“She was everything to me. She supported us all. She helped me pay for my studies,” said Gulshalan, who recalled her sister calling home regularly and always putting the family’s needs before her own.Kirandeep, who hails from Tarn Taran district in Majha district of Punjab, traveled to the UK on a student visa to further his studies at Buckinghamshire New University.After completing the program, she worked in a grocery store while raising a family. Gulshalan told the BBC that despite financial difficulties, her sister had become the family’s greatest source of hope.“Our family was very poor. She always thought of us first. She wanted me to do well in school,” she said.Kirandeep leaves behind her parents, three siblings, her husband, who she married in England, and their infant child.Gulshalan said the family learned about the killings from people in the village but was still trying to come to terms with the tragedy.She said: “My parents are devastated. My mother has not been well since hearing the news. We never thought something like this would happen to her in London.” She added that the family wanted Kirandip’s body to be repatriated so that she could be cremated in her hometown.The family faced hardships after they sold their farmland to fund Kirandip’s move abroad.Her brother Lovepreet Singh had earlier said that after she completed her BSc in Punjab, the family sold half an acre of land – their only major asset – and spent around Rs 25 lakh on her education and relocation.“We have high hopes that she will help one of us move to the UK and improve our family’s financial situation,” Lovepreet said.Kirandip’s family claimed the attack may have been racially motivated and called on the Indian government to help bring Kirandip’s body back to India.However, the Metropolitan Police said there was no evidence at this stage to suggest it was a hate crime, adding that investigators were “keeping an open mind and exploring every line of inquiry”.According to family members, Kirandip was at home with her husband and baby when the assailants entered her bedroom and attacked her with a sharp weapon.Daniel Sean James, 46, has been charged with Kirandeep Kaur’s murder, attempted murder and possession of a bladed article.Prosecutors said he attacked her at their home in Uxbridge Road, Hythe, in the early hours of July 12 before jumping from a window and breaking both ankles.He appeared at the Old Bailey via video link on Thursday and was remanded in custody. A plea hearing is scheduled for October 1.
