Lakhvinder Cheema was murdered on 27 January 2009 in Southall, West London, by his former lover, Lakhvir Kaur Singh through the use of poison derived from the Aconitum ferox plant, which contains the highly toxic alkaloid pseudaconitine.
[1] The case is of note due to the cruel method of killing and the degree of premeditation, with Singh travelling to India to procure bikh poison, prepared from Aconitum ferox.
On 27 January 2009 Singh went to the victim's home and laced a leftover curry in his refrigerator with the poison, knowing that he and his fiancée, Gurjeet Choongh, were planning to eat the dish that evening.
Singh attempted to blame her brother-in-law Varinda for the crime but a lodger had witnessed her taking the curry out of the fridge on the day of the murder.
[6] The Crown had sought life imprisonment for Singh with a minimum term of 30 years, due to the gravity of the case and the level of premeditation involved in addition to the fact there had been two victims.