Harpreet Singh sentenced to life in prison

A fourth man has been found guilty today of his involvement in the murder of Geeta Aulakh, in Greenford in 2009.

The jury returned its verdict following a re-trial at the Old Bailey.

Harpreet Singh, 21, of Elmwood Road, Slough was sentenced to life in prison, to serve a minimum of 22 years.

Detective Chief Inspector Howard Groves of the Homicide and Serious Crime Command, said:

"Harpreet Singh allowed himself to be involved in a vicious plot to kill an innocent young mother whose husband no longer wanted her alive. Her family, continue to try and come to terms with the loss of a much loved woman who was trying to divorce her husband for a better life.

"Geeta's family have been put through the pain of a second trial and witnesses have had to give evidence for a second time and I thank them for their determination to ensure that those responsible for Geeta's death did not get away with it. By working with the communities affected by so-called "honour killings" we can clearly demonstrate that offenders
will be brought to justice."

The court heard that police were called at approximately 19:00hrs on 16 November 2009 to reports of a woman seriously injured in Braund Avenue,
at the junction of Verulam Road, Greenford.

On arrival police discovered a woman in the street, suffering from a head injury and a severed right hand.

Geeta Aulakh, 28, of Greenford was taken by ambulance to Charing Cross Hospital where she was pronounced dead at 23:19hrs.

A post-mortem gave cause of death as severe head injury caused by a heavy chopping instrument such as a machete. It was also concluded that the injury to her hand was most likely as a result of Geeta trying to
defend herself during the attack.

Enquiries quickly established that Geeta had left work in Southall, where she was a receptionist at Sunrise Radio, and caught the number 105 bus at approximately 18.25hrs. She was on her way to pick up her children, two boys aged seven and eight, from the childminder's house
and was walking towards the address when she was attacked.

It was known that Geeta had been involved in a very unhappy marriage since 2001 and had recently started divorce proceedings. Her husband was arrested, questioned and bailed pending further enquiries on 17 November.

Later the same day, Jaswant Singh Dhillon walked into Southall police station and claimed to have information regarding Geeta's death. He told detectives that he had gone with Sher SINGH to see someone in Greenford but did not know what it was for. When they got to Greenford, Singh had accosted Geeta and killed her. Dhillon said they had been driven to the scene by someone he did not know and told officers where Singh's clothes and the murder weapon could be found.

A jacket and a machete were subsequently recovered from the Grand Union Canal in Slough. A pair of trainers was retrieved from the side of the M4 near the junction to the M25.

Sher Singh was charged with Geeta's murder on 23 November as a result of DNA evidence and Geeta's husband, Harpreet Aulakh, was charged in December 2009.

In April 2010, Harpreet Singh was arrested as a result of mobile phone contact to both Jaswant Singh Dhillon and Harpreet Aulakh prior to, and on the day of, the murder. He was later identified by Dhillon as being the unnamed driver of the car and charged.

Enquiries also revealed that Harpreet Singh had once lived in Rochfords Gardens, close to where the weapon and jacket were found and had good knowledge of the area where they were dumped.

Singh was later charged with murder and first appeared at the Old Bailey for trial with the three other defendants on Monday, 18 October. The jury returned guilty verdicts for Geeta's former husband Harpreet Singh Aulakh, 32, Sher Singh, 19, and Jaswant Singh Dhillon, 31, on 2
December 2010.

They were unable to return a verdict on Harpreet Singh and he was committed for re-trial as above.

A statement released on behalf of Geeta's family said, "Today justice has prevailed after the fourth man has been found guilty of Geeta's Murder. This evil man was the get-away driver yet he thought he could portray himself as a young shy boy, and lie his way out of the truth, to fool the jury.

"Once again we would like to thank the investigation team and legal team for their hard work and professionalism during this whole episode in our lives, as well as our friends, family and the local community for all their support."

15 April 2011