LONDON, Nov 16: An Indian-origin man has been sentenced to life imprisonment by a UK court after being convicted of murder by a unanimous jury for stabbing his wife to death in Milton Keynes area of south-east England.
Anil Gill, 47, was arrested on suspicion of the murder of 43-year-old Ranjit Gill by Thames Valley Police after being called to the couple’s home in January this year by the suspect.
Officers discovered Ranjit lying wrapped in a duvet and bin bags in the garage of the property with significant injuries and it was soon obvious that she had been deceased for some time. A post-mortem examination determined that Ranjit had died as a result of multiple stab wounds.
In February, Anil was charged with one count of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment at Luton Crown Court on Friday. He must serve a minimum of 22 years behind bars before being eligible for parole.
“The only sentence for murder is life imprisonment,” said Detective Inspector Nicola Douglas of Thames Valley Police’s Major Crime Unit – the Senior Investigation Officer in the case, who described the murder as “ruthless and cold-blooded”.
“I am satisfied the minimum term to be served of 22 years reflects the severity of this awful crime. I would like to again pay tribute and thank the family of Ranjit who have shown such dignity in the most terrible of circumstances,” she said.
According to Thames Valley Police, throughout the trial Anil claimed that he was not guilty of murder, but admitted to manslaughter, accepting he had unlawfully killed Ranjit. Anil denied he had intended to cause her serious harm and also put forward the partial defence of loss of control because of things he said Ranjit had said and done to him.
The court heard that Anil stabbed his wife at least 18 times. He then spent several hours cleaning up the scene, wrapping Ranjit’s body in bin bags and moving her to the garage, before showering and going to bed. Later that day is when he called the police to say what he had done, while making excuses and blaming his dead wife for his actions.
“This has never been accepted by the prosecution or Ranjit’s family and has not been accepted by the jury,” said Detective Inspector Douglas.
She added: “It is clear that Anil Gill knew exactly what he was doing when he repeatedly stabbed Ranjit to death. He was a controlling husband who had physically and mentally abused Ranjit during their marriage.
“No one should have to suffer domestic abuse and we would encourage anyone who is being abused to please report it.”
Ranjit’s brother, Raj Sagoo, spoke of the void left behind in the family’s life since the death of his sister.
“A void that will never heal. Imagine, anyone that reads or hears this, imagine for one moment that a person you loved was killed in such a violent and callous way, ask yourself if you could put it into words like I have been asked to do. I can’t tell you how I am feeling, it is impossible to put into words how sitting through this trial and hearing the horrors makes me feel,” he said.
Ranjit’s sisters Kamel Aujla, Tejinder McCann, Harminder Sahni and niece Monica Aujla also paid tribute to a “beautiful, amazing” person.
“My baby sister was taken away from me by a man who was supposed to have cared and loved her in sickness and health. I will never be able to hug her, dance with her or go out with her ever again,” said McCann in her statement released by the police.
“I’m still in shock. I can’t comprehend how this man that I used to spend a lot of time around and was actually quite close with, I now can’t even bring myself to make eye contact with him, how could he do that to such a wonderful person,” noted Ranjit’s niece Monica. (PTI)
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