It is claimed that Bachan Kaur told the other attendees that she intended to "get rid of" Surjit and would be taking her to India, where plans had already been made to achieve this aim.
[5][4] They were met at the airport by Bachan Kaur's brother, Darshan Singh, and on 5 and 6 December attended two weddings in rural Punjab.
After the weddings Surjit went to a travel agent to try to secure an earlier flight home but was unable to do so, and she did not return on 18 December as originally scheduled.
[1] When Surjit failed to return and questions were asked about her whereabouts, Bachan Kaur and Sukhdave wove a web of deceit to cover up her disappearance; they claimed that she had run away with another man in India[11] and Sukhdave claimed to have spoken to her on the phone to confirm that she wasn't coming back,[12] yet he told someone else she'd "passed away"; they forged letters purporting to be from the Metropolitan Police which they sent to the Indian Police to put them off investigating,[13] and they forged conveyancing documents so they could transfer Surjit's financial share of the family home to themselves.
It also transpired that Sukdave had taken out a life insurance policy on Surjit the day she flew to India;[14][15] he then petitioned for a divorce,[1] claiming desertion.
[15][16] When Surjit failed to return to the UK on 18 December, she sent an anonymous letter to the local police station repeating her concerns.
[7] In May 2000, Bachan Kaur, Sukhdave Athwal and two other family members were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to murder[13] but were released without charge.
[1] Sarbjit described the years following Surjit's disappearance as living "in a constant climate of fear"; she was effectively coerced and threatened into silence.
[13] Sarbjit spent three-and-a-half days giving evidence and being cross-examined;[5] she was the first person to testify against her own family members in an open court, in a British honour killing trial.
It was deemed that the original sentence was "manifestly excessive" due to her advanced age and the "grave cultural difficulties (Bachan) will encounter" in jail.
[6] In January 2008, a confiscation order was issued to recoup proceeds obtained by Bachan Kaur and Sukhdave Athwal when they fraudulently transferred ownership of Surjit's previous home to themselves.
[1] Surjit's brother, Jagdeesh, who campaigned relentlessly for action after his sister's disappearance, continued to pursue his quest to have those directly responsible for Surjit's murder prosecuted;[21] in 2013, he wrote to British Prime Minister, David Cameron, asking that he "press the Indian Prime Minister" to have the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) of India reinvestigate the case.