EXCLUSIVE: Unfaithful British mother sentenced to death by hanging for murdering her husband had given him a biryani laced with sedatives before she slit his throat to get her hands on his £2m life insurance

An unfaithful British mother sentenced to death in India for murdering her husband had laced a biryani she cooked for him with sedatives and slit his throat as he slept so that she could inherit £2million from his life insurance policy, a court heard.

Ramandeep Kaur Mann, 38, from Derby, was found guilty of murdering her husband Sukhjit Singh, 34, while they were on holiday at his mother’s house in India in September 2016.

She now faces the prospect of being hanged for the killing, which was witnessed by their eldest son Arjun who was aged nine at the time and gave evidence in court against his mother.

Mann mixed sleeping pills into a biryani she made for Mr Singh and their two children, which was his favourite dish.

But it was only eaten by him and their youngest son, Aryan aged six at the time and not by his older brother, who said he was not hungry.

British mother Ramandeep Kaur Mann (pictured) sentenced to death in India for murdering her husband so that she could inherit £2 million from his life insurance policy

The killing was witnessed by their eldest son Arjun who was aged nine at the time. Pictured: Sukhjit Singh and Ramandeep Kaur Mann

After Mr Singh fell into a deep sleep, she allowed her lover Gurpreet Singh into the home.

READ MORE: Mother of devout Sikh with ‘£2m life insurance’ who was murdered in India by his British wife and her secret lover says she is ‘relieved’ after her son’s killer was sentenced to death 

He then hit him over the head with a hammer and handed her a knife, with which she slit her husband’s throat.

Her trial at a court in Shahjahanpur, north India heard that Mann’s affair with Gurpreet, who was her husband’s childhood friend, started during a family holiday to Dubai in November 2015.

Gurpreet lived there and spent time with Mr Singh and his family when they visited, showing them around the country and accompanying them on day trips to the dessert as the two pals reconnected after not seeing each other for several years.

They grew up together in Shahjahanpur but Mr Singh moved to the UK in 2002, where his sister also lives while Gurpreet went to Dubai to work in construction and trucking.

Mr Singh and Mann married in the UK in 2005 after meeting in Slough, where they both lived at the time. They then moved to South London and then to Derby.

But behind his best friend’s back, and despite the happy time all appeared to have had during their Dubai get together as they rode camels and enjoyed picnics, Gurpreet’s illicit affair with Mann continued when they left the Gulf country.

They regularly exchanged WhatsApp messages and telephone calls, many of which were produced in court.

Gurpreet Singh (pictured), who was a childhood friend of Sukhjeet, was sentenced to life imprisonment with a fine of £260,000 

Ramandeep Kaur Mann now faces the prospect of being hanged for the killing

Her trial at a court in Shahjahanpur, north India heard that Mann’s affair with Gurpreet, who was her husband’s childhood friend, started during a family holiday to Dubai in November 2015

And as the long-distance secret romance continued, Mann began plotting how to get out of the marriage, leading her to suggest that they visit Mr Singh’s mother for a month in September 2016 and that Gurpreet should also join them.

READ MORE: British mother is sentenced to death in India after brutally murdering her devout Sikh husband with the help of her secret lover in front of the couple’s horrified nine-year-old son

Ashok Khanna, lawyer for Mr Singh’s family told MailOnline: ‘This disgusting crime was being plotted by Mann while she was in the UK and Gurpreet in Dubai. Gurpreet was like her husband’s brother, they were very close. His family still can’t believe that he betrayed them like this.

‘Mann has not shown any remorse and has been very arrogant from the moment she was arrested. She deserves this punishment because this is a woman who drugged her own husband and children so that she could kill him. Who does that kind of thing?’

He added: ‘But it wasn’t just wanting to be with Gurpreet that motivated her. She also stood to make a lot of money from his death.’

A court judgment stated that Mann stood to benefit from a life insurance policy that was in Mr Singh’s name, a home the couple owned in the UK and property and money he had in India.

Following his killing, his old friend Gurpreet was arrested hours later at Delhi airport as he attempted to board a flight to Dubai.

Mann was detained at her mother-in-law’s home with police in India revealing that they suspected her from the outset. A bloody knife used for the murder was found in bushes close to where she was staying.

Superintendent Ashok Kumar Meena of Shahjahanpur Police, who led the investigation told MailOnline: ‘This couple decided to murder Mr Singh in India because they believed that they could get away with it here, thinking that our judiciary and police system is not as good as the UK. They lured him to India to his death.

Devout Sikh Sukhjit Singh (left), 34, a father-of-two from Derby, Derbyshire, was found in bed with his throat slit

Ramandeep Kaur Mann, 38, from Derby, was found guilty of murdering her husband Sukhjeet Singh, 34, (pictured together) while they were on holiday at his mother’s house in India in 2016

‘MaNn was our main suspect from the moment this crime took place. We had a number of key witnesses, the main one being her own son.’

The most dramatic moment of the trial took place when Mann’s eldest son Arjun, now aged 16, stood in the dock to give evidence against her.

He described how his mother had been sleeping in the bed next to his father when he was awoken to the sight of her smothering him with a pillow.

Having not eaten the biryani laced with sleeping pills, the sound of his father struggling for breath led to him rising and witnessing the horrific events.

The youngster described how his mother was sitting on top of Mr Singh and that he saw Gurpreet then hit him over the head with a hammer followed by Mann slitting his throat.

According to sources in court at the time, Mann sat in court expressionless as she heard her son’s harrowing testimony while Gurpreet stared at the ground.

Following Mr Singh’s killing, legal proceedings took place in the UK over who should be granted custody of the couple’s sons.

Despite pleas from Mann’s family that it should be them, it was awarded to their paternal uncle and aunt with whom the two boys now reside in London.

Lawyers for Mann have filed an appeal against her death sentence, claiming that the judge incorrectly applied the law when he handed it down to her.

Despite being her accomplice, Gurpreet was spared the death penalty after being found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment with a fine of 300,000 Rupees (£3,000)

Mann mixed sleeping pills into a biryani she made for Mr Singh and their two children, which was his favourite dish

Lawyers for Mann have filed an appeal against her death sentence, claiming that the judge incorrectly applied the law when he handed it down to her 

Upon hearing her sentence, Mann screamed that she was being ‘framed’ by her dead husband’s relatives and protested her innocence. In police interviews she also claimed that Mr Singh had refused to give her a divorce.

According to sources, she has spent an estimated £100,000 on legal fees and also had to sell her home in Derby to help raise funds.

She is currently being held in Shahjahnpur District Jail where she will remain until the outcome of her appeal, which could take several years.

Raj Kamal, a lawyer in India’s Supreme Court who previously represented Mann said: ‘In my opinion the death sentence is very harsh and does not meet the legal criteria. These are usually given in the “rarest of rare” cases.

‘But what’s not helped Mann is the fact that her own child gave evidence against her and her conduct in court. She has not expressed any remorse and has also abused her mother-in-law. The judge has taken all this into account along with the fact that she was having an affair and driven by financial reasons. But this doesn’t mean she should have got a death sentence.’

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